Save the Best for Last
by xTotallyxTroyellax
Summary: SNICKERS: What if in Season 10, Sara and Grissom hadn't been married and as Sara is visiting the team she realizes that she is falling for her best friend? A "snicker-fied" version of what Season 10 might look like for Snickers fans!
1. Chapter 1: A Family Affair

**I am proud to present you all with the first episode of Season 10, "snicker-fied" of course! After reading a few reviews on my last story, I decided that writing this story would be a good healing tool for those of us who were upset over Sara and Grissom being married. =(**

**The cases will remain the same for each of the episodes. The only thing that will change is the interaction between the C.S.I.s because I am the author and I will it that way. =D**

**This is for all you Snickers fans out there! Keep the sliver of hope alive!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or its characters. Unfortunately, CBS does, and if I had been in charge, things would've gone the "Snickers" way from the beginning. I wish I owned George Eads as well, but alas, I do not own him either.**

"I need help Ecklie," Catherine stated as she walked down the long hallway of the familiar C.S.I. building with her boss.

" I'm sorry Catherine, but I have more pressing matters I have to deal with than finding you a new member for your team."

Catherine looked at Conrad Ecklie, trying very hard not to reach out and punch the older man in the face. " Listen Ecklie, we've been short-handed since Riley left unexpectedly…"

Conrad stopped in the middle of the hallway to look at the female supervisor. " And whose fault is it that she left in the first place?"

Catherine's eyes widened at the accusation made against her. " You think that it's my fault?

Ecklie folded his arms over his chest. " You didn't read Riley's exit interview yet, did you?"

Catherine opened her mouth only to abruptly close it. Riley's folder was on her desk, among the 40 other folders all documenting cases that were closed and needed to be signed off on and filed away.

" I was going to get to it eventually…"

Ecklie raised an eyebrow in the blonde's direction, causing Catherine to place her hands on her hips. " What do you want me to do? I'm swamped with all of the cases Riley conveniently didn't finish before she left. I need help Ecklie!"

Ecklie turned away from Catherine to peer into the busy DNA lab. " Can't you just get Stokes or Sanders to help you out?"

Catherine rolled her eyes at the back of her boss's head. " They have their own cases to deal with."

Adjusting his tie using the reflection in the glass, Conrad turned back around to face the irritated supervisor. " I'm sorry Catherine, but the lab has had to make some cutbacks, and we just can't afford to get you a new C.S.I."

Catherine, who just seemed to become angrier every time Ecklie spoke, was now up in her boss's face. " If you don't get me someone new by the end of shift, all of the folders that are currently taking resident on my desk will become your new house guests. Do I make myself clear?"

Ecklie nodded furiously, knowing Catherine was capable of much worse. Catherine backed off, allowing Ecklie to breathe again. A phone began to ring, and Catherine picked it up to read the text message.

" Red flag on a traffic accident."

Abruptly turning to leave, Catherine started towards her office when she remembered something she had forgotten to tell Conrad.

" Oh and Ecklie."

Conrad took a large breath and turned to look at Catherine, very much afraid of what would come out of her mouth next. To his chagrin, Catherine was grinning.

"I want someone who knows what they're doing. Heaven knows I don't have the time to train someone new!"

With that said, Catherine continued on her way, leaving Ecklie in the hallway, praying no one saw him get pushed around by Catherine.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

After fully documenting Olivia Hamilton's scene to the best of their ability, and a minor disagreement between Nick and Greg, Catherine and her team were finally back at the lab. Nick and Ray had headed to the garage to examine Wilkes's car while Catherine went straight to her office. Arriving at the door and spotting the two large stacks of folders, she let out a gigantic sigh. Taking a seat in her over-sized chair, Catherine skimmed the folder names until she spotted the one she was looking for. Careful not to tip over the rest of the folders, Catherine slid Riley's from the pile and placed it in front of her. Grabbing her glasses from the top desk drawer, she perched them on her nose in Grissom-like fashion and pulled the folder open.

Many words began to jump out at her including "ineffective leadership", "no team unity", and "poor communication". Frustrated, Catherine practically ripped the glasses from her face before shutting the folder with a gentle thump. She knew things weren't going well, but she hadn't thought things were that bad. A small photo caught the corner of her eye, causing Catherine to emit another sigh. The picture had been of the entire C.S.I. team a few years back when Greg has been promoted. The shining faces of the entire team stared back at Catherine and she couldn't help but produce a sad smile.

Things had been so easy back then. There was a bond that had been formed that was very reminiscent of a family's. The family had fallen apart though, starting with Sara's departure followed shortly by Warwick's untimely death. The family had been in a weakened state when Grissom had delivered the final blow by "moving on."

Catherine inhaled sharply, overcome with a pang of sadness at the loss of her friends. What she wouldn't give to have a smug-looking Sara Sidle standing in her office, with that smile she got when she figured out something incredibly difficult. To have a laughing Warrick walk down the hall alongside Nick, patting his buddy on the back. Hell, she would even love to hear Grissom's impatient voice yelling her name as he played with his bugs in his office. She could almost hear him now…

" Catherine. Catherine. CATHERINE!"

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Catherine stared at the Texan in front of her.

"You alright there Catha? You looked like you were somewhere else."

Catherine gave her head a little nod, not trusting her words at the moment to due her justice. She gave one final shake of her head, trying to knock the last of the memories from her thoughts.

"I'm fine Nick. What have we got so far?"

Nick pulled a thick-bound, brown scrapbook from his side before grasping it with both hands.

" We found this in Wilkes' suitcase."

Catherine replaced her glasses on her nose before holding out her hands for the book. Opening the large binding, Catherine blinked once to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her.

"Is that…"

"Olivia Hamilton?" Nick answered. Catherine continued to flip through page after page of colorful pictures of the young actress.

" Sheesh, you think the guy was stalking her?"

Nick folded his arms over his chest.

"It gives us a motive."

Before Catherine could respond, Ecklie appeared from behind Nick. " May I speak with you Catherine?"

Catherine handed the scrapbook back to Nick.

" Find out what Ray thinks of this."

Nick slowly nodded and exited, leaving Catherine and Ecklie alone in the small, cramped office.

" What do you want Ecklie?"

Ecklie cleared his throat before entering all the way into Catherine's office. " I think I've discovered a solution for your problem."

Choosing not to look at Ecklie, Catherine pulled the topmost folder from the large collection, opened it and began to skim the pages. " It better be a C.S.I. or you can start taking these folders out now."

Conrad had to bite his tongue to keep himself from snapping back at Catherine.

" I think I did better."

Catherine scoffed.

" The only thing that would be better was if…"

Catherine was no looking up, and had to stop. There standing next to Ecklie was one of the shining faces she had been looking at moments ago. " It can't be."

Catherine was staring at the brunette who had a large grin on her face.

" If you don't want my help, I can leave."

Catherine was out of her chair in an instant, approaching her old friend and embracing her in a tight hug. " It's so good to see you Sara."

Sara returned the hug with equal fervor before uttering her own reply.

"It's good to see you too Cath."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Once Ecklie had left, Catherine and Sara had decided to take a walk around the lab to catch-up.

"I still can't believe you're here!" Catherine exclaimed to which Sara smiled.

"When Ecklie called and asked, I was shocked. You must have scared him good Cath!"

Catherine chuckled as the pair continued the walk down the familiar halls of the C.S.I. building.

"What made you decide to come back to Vegas?"

A large sigh escaped Sara's mouth as Catherine looked at her friend expectantly.

" I just really missed you guys, that's all."

Catherine watched Sara's face, reading the new lines that had appeared there since the last time she had seen her. She looked stressed, like something else was plaguing her thoughts.

"Sara."

When the brunette had refused to face her, Catherine placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I want you to know that I'm here for you. If you ever want to talk, I'm here, alright?"

Sara looked at Catherine and offered a small smile. " I appreciate it Cath. I would love to talk at some point, but I was brought in for a reason. Tell me what I can do to help you."

Catherine began to relay the facts of Hamilton's case when a very irritated Greg Sanders entered the building, heading in the women's direction.

"I have a bone to pick with you!"

Sara raised an eyebrow at Catherine who merely responded with a shrug. Greg finally came to a stop in front of Catherine, barely registering Sara's presence next to her.

" We receive the biggest case of the year, and instead of keeping your more experience members of the team on the case, you kept a level two and sent me on a trash run! What give Catherine? I've been a level three for years now! I have superiority over Ray!"

As Greg ranted, Catherine came to the realization that perhaps there was some truth to Riley's interview. Trying to banish the thought from her mind, Catherine put a hand up, causing Greg to stop his tirade.

" I'm sorry you felt cheated Greg, I really am, but Ray needs the experience. I sent you on the trash run because I figured you were the one who would make the least amount of noise about having to do it."

Greg's face suddenly turned into one that was ridden with guilt.

"Let's just forget I said anything."

Catherine gave a small nod, and watched as the younger man turned around and headed back down the hallway. Hardly being able to resist the opportunity, Sara called out to him. " It was nice chatting with you Greg!"

"It was nice to see you too, Sara."

Greg suddenly stopped his forward movement and Sara smiled as she watched the former lab rat turn around with wide eyes. Finally realizing he hadn't imagined her voice, a huge grin broke out onto his face as he re-approached Sara.

"Well, I'll be darned. Sara Sidle is back in Las Vegas!"

The two shared a brief embrace before Greg backed away, his eyes once again shining with pure excitement, the tirade from earlier, completely forgotten.

"How are you? How's Grissom been treating you?"

Catherine watched as Sara's face tightened, only for a second, before retuning to its casual smile.

" I've been better, and Grissom, well let's just say he's being typical Grissom."

If Greg had noticed anything, he had chosen not to voice it. " Well that's good! How long are you here for?"

Sara peered over at Catherine.

" As long as you guys need me for."

Greg was still beaming at Sara, which was beginning to creep Catherine out, so she ushered him off to go finish his case, promising him he could catch up with Sara later. No sooner had Greg left, Nick and Ray emerged from one of the AV labs chatting animatedly. Catherine made a head motion for Sara to follow, and she quickly obliged.

" Where are we on Wilkes?"

Ray gave a bit of a satisfied smirk, which caused Nick to roll his eyes.

"Turns out Wilkes wasn't in the driver's seat. When I went to go visit him in the hospital, the ALS showed visible signs of trauma going from his right shoulder to the left side of his abdomen in the shape of a seatbelt."

Nick sneaked a peek at Catherine before doing a double take when he spotted Sara.

" Hey there Sunshine!"

Ray stopped himself to look at the woman to look at the woman next to Catherine who was now smiling broadly at Nick. " You haven't called me that in years."

Nick grinned and held his arms open for Sara.

" Get over here darlin'."

Catherine watched as Sara's smile seemed to increase more as she walked into Nick's arms. It had been obvious that the two were very close when Sara had still worked in the lab, but now watching the two interact, Catherine began to wonder if there was more than met the eye with the pair.

Letting Nick and Sara have their moment, Catherine turned to look at Ray. " I'll explain later. Continue please."

Ray turned back to his supervisor and did as he was told.

" Nick also discovered a transmitter on top of the lights that Olivia had stopped at forcing her light to turn red, leaving her as a sitting duck."

Catherine nodded as she digested the information.

" So, someone must've known that Wilkes was a stalker, used the transmitter to set the scene, then, after the crash, staged it to look like Wilkes was responsible for the killing."

Ray smiled at Catherine. "Exactly."

Catherine noticed Nick and Sara part and posed her next question.

"So then, where are we with suspects?"

"I can answer that question," said Nick as he re-entered the conversation.

"Turns out our little protection friend had a little chat with Wilkes that night. From the looks of the things from the hotel video footage, it seemed pretty intense."

Ray then took the reigns from Nick. " Noticing that O'Neill had no damages to his face that would account for a car accident, Nick and I delved a bit deeper into his history. The guy teaches a class for racecar driving, which means he would have a helmet. We managed to get a warrant from Brass, found the helmet in his bag with a suspicious white powder on it. We had sent it to the lab and just got the results back."

"Airbag powder?" question Sara, who was now fully immersed in the conversation. Ray pointed at Sara and nodded his head.

" It was airbag powder. We just need to bring him in Catherine."

Before Catherine could respond, thumps were heard at the other end of the building, followed by gunshots. Chaos ensued as men clad in black suits emerged from the morgue, holding guns and yelling in a foreign language. Shots rang through the air for a second time and Nick immediately tackled Sara to the ground in order to protect her. Ray managed to kick one of the men through the glass walls of the lab, while Greg moved to a position between Catherine and the men, taking out his gun and firing shots of his own. A few of the men fell, but several managed to escape, clutching a black body bag. When Nick was sure they were gone, he removed himself from his protective stance over Sara. Sara's eyes were wide as she looked at Nick before they both questioned each other in unison.

"Are you okay?"

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Despite everyone's belief that it had been Olivia Hamilton's body that had been stolen, they were shocked to learn that it was actually the old man from Greg's case. After a run to the DNA lab, results confirmed that the old man had actually been the young starlet's father. No sooner had the evidence been uncovered; a call came in regarding the man's body, or what was left of it. Sara and Nick had been the ones assigned to get the parts of the man back to the lab as well as analyzing what was left of the man's remains.

As they dug through the various pieces, Nick took a look at Sara. " What did he do?"

Sara looked up at Nick, here eyes connecting with his for a brief minute before she shook her head at him.

" I hate how well you can read me."

Nick let out a chuckle before turning back to his work. The room was filled with silence for a minute before Nick posed his question again.

" It's not good to bottle this stuff up, Sar. You know that."

Sara sighed, contemplating whether or not she wanted to confide in him. One look at Nick's face and Sara felt herself crumble.

" Nothing happened Nick. No romantic dinners alone, no flowers, no chocolate, no walks along the beach, nothing. Things were good for a week or so, but then Grissom started to feel lost without his job, and instead of turning to me for comfort, he turned to his bugs."

This caused Nick to look at his friend.

" He chose his bugs over you?"

Sara merely shrugged her shoulders, causing Nick to resume his work, but not before shaking his head and uttering, "Idiot." This caused Sara to smile.

" I needed some time to myself to think about things and when Ecklie called, I knew it was opportunity knocking at my door. I packed my bags, wrote Grissom a note and just got out of there."

The room once again was overcome with silence as the two focused on the work in front of them. Nick once again was the one to break the silence.

" I would never do that to you Sunshine."

Sara peeked over at Nick, who had now stopped his work and was looking directly at Sara. The trance was broken by the sound of the door opening, allowing Ray, Catherine, and Greg to enter. Ray was the first one to speak.

"He swallowed something. That's why the killer wanted the body."

Ray then proceeded to hold up an x-ray of the old man's upper chest and pointed to a small object lodged in his collarbone. Nick moved closer to the image.

" It almost looks like a cufflink."

Sara's eyes widened as she turned to look at Nick who was looking back at her, excitement radiating in his eyes.

" Loser has to buy the winner breakfast?"

Sara grinned at Nick's competitiveness before slowly nodding her head. Without another word, both Nick and Sara began to search through the remains. Several moments later, Nick let out a triumphant, " Ah ha!" as he quickly washed off the pieces to reveal the cuff link in two pieces. Nick handed the pieces to Ray who put them together to reveal the symbol for O'Neill's protection service. Ray smiled broadly before displaying the pin to both Catherine and Greg.

" You can run but you can't hide."

Nick gave Sara a triumphant gaze to which Sara responded by sticking out her tongue.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

By finding the cuff link, the C.S.I. team was able to nail the death of Olivia's father on the protection agent, Tom O'Neill, but was unable to tie him to Olivia's murder. Sara and Ray had finally received proper introductions and Catherine had promoted Nick to assistant supervisor before handing him half of the folders that had been cluttering her desk.

As Nick was leaving Catherine's office he spotted Sara on her way out.

" Not trying to weasel your way out of breakfast, are you?"

Sara gently shook her head before approaching Nick and taking half of the folders from him.

"I'm a woman of my word Stokes."

Nick turned to look at Sara, as the two started towards his office, and gave her a large grin.

" That's why I love you."

Sara felt her cheeks tinge pink as well as a strange fluttering in her stomach. Although she had no idea why, when Nick had spoken those little words, she was left feeling extremely special to him. Trying to knock the feeling aside, she placed the folders onto his desk before turning to look at him. Nick also laid his side of the folders onto the desk and began to grimace.

" Maybe I should take a rain check on breakfast."

Sara laughed before placing a hand on her friend's back. " That's fine with me. It's been a really long day."

Sara gave Nick a small pat on the back and turned to leave when Nick's voice caused her to turn around.

"It's good to have to back Sunshine."

Sara smiled before responding.

"It's good to be back."

**So what did you think? I will try and provide my own version of the episode before the new one premieres but I cannot make any promises. I am a busy college girl, and do have homework I need to get done.**

**Reviews would be simply awesome!**

**Xoxo**

**Cait the Great**


	2. Chapter 2: Ghost Town

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! It makes my day so much better! I'm glad to know that there are some Snickers fans still out there that are looking for some comfort. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Wish I did though. =)**

Sara stood in the middle of the dimly lit bathroom looking at the body lying in the tub. The lights flickered for a moment before coming on fully finally giving Sara enough light to properly document the scene. Pulling the camera from her neck, Sara began to take multiple photos. Making sure to catch several different angles of the body. She felt someone come up from behind her, close enough that she could faintly smell his aftershave.

" Someone still owes me breakfast."

Sara allowed a smug look to appear on her face before taking yet another picture.

" Someone else has been busy."

Nick moved even closer, his head now over Sara's shoulder. Sara turned to look at him causing both parties to smile.

" What about after shift today?"

Sara's senses were overwhelmed with not only his intoxicating scent, but also his handsome features, topped off with a charming smile. Sara could feel her heart thudding all over her body. This was new territory for her. She and Nick had always flirted with one another; it was a constant in their relationship, but this felt different. She wasn't flirting with him out of habit; she was flirting with him because she wanted to. Shaking her head a bit, the smile on Nick's face fell.

" You don't want to?"

Sara immediately went on the defensive.

" Oh no, I would love to go to breakfast with you. I'm sorry. My mind was just somewhere else."

Nick allowed the smile to creep its way back onto his adorable face, which caused Sara to smile as well.

" Am I interrupting something?"

Sara and Nick immediately split to see Dave standing in the doorway. Both Sara and Nick started sputtering, " No! Definitely Not! Why would you think that?" to which Dave only raised an eyebrow before letting out a chuckle.

" So where's the body?"

Sara pointed over to the tub and Dave approached, careful to avoid the blood evidence on the floor. Nick cleared his throat before turning to Sara.

" So, what have you got so far?"

Sara bent down and pointed to what appeared to be a bloody shoe print.

"Looks to be a men's size 10 to 12. No distinctive tread mark though, which is odd."

Nick also bent down to get a better look. Sara then pointed to the door near the shower.

"Probably the killer's entrance and exit. It's broken."

Nick turned his attention from the shoeprints to Sara.

" Did you dust for prints?"

Sara gave him a look, which caused Nick to chuckle. Sara then rolled her eyes.

" Dusted for prints but couldn't get anything apart from a partial or two."

Dave let out a cough, causing both Nick and Sara to look up.

"Looking at your guy here, I'd say preliminary COD is a slit to the carotid artery. Your killer went just deep enough to kill him."

Nick stood back up, followed shortly by Sara.

" Looks like we've got a puzzle on our hands."

Sara looked over at Nick causing him to turn and look at her.

" Good thing we both like puzzles."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

" Dave says you and Sara were looking pretty cozy at the crime scene today," exclaimed Greg as he looked around the curtains in one of the many webcam rooms. Outside, Nick rolled his eyes at Greg's statement.

" Sara and I are good friends Greg."

Greg opened the curtain to look at Nick.

" Is that what they're calling it nowadays?"

Nick glared at Greg who simply grinned back. Nick returned to looking at the wall, trying to find where the peeping tom had been peeking. Spotting a large amount of white substance by a well-formed crack in the wall, Nick produced a swab to get a sample.

" What did the girl say the peeping tom looked like?"

Greg ceased his investigation of the room to look at Nick.

" I think she made mention of Marilyn Manson. Why?"

Nick held up his swab before capping it and placing it in his vest pocket.

"White substance by what I would say is our peeping tom's hole. Could be paint."

Nick then proceeded to open the small flap and peek through it.

" There's no way our guy would've been able to see anything. The curtain is in the way."

Ignoring Nick's statement, Greg asked, " Seriously though man, what's going on between you and Sidle?"

Rolling his eyes, Nick tried to get Greg to focus on the case.

"Whatever this guy used had to be discreet enough to not alert the girls to his presence."

Still completely oblivious to Nick, Greg took a seat on the bed.

" I mean the girl pined for Grissom for years. Do you really want to get involved with that?"

Nick was looking around outside now, trying to find what could've been used to get the curtain out of the way. His eyes fell upon a hanger looking very out of place in the green grass. Looking at it thoughtfully, he picked it up and placed it through the small opening, successfully removing the curtain to reveal a lounging Greg on the bed, arms folded behind his head, looking like he owned the place. Greg was staring up at the ceiling, completely at ease on the bed.

" Sara waited forever for the guy. I doubt she would likely just forget about him with a snap of your fingers."

"First of all," Nick stated, " Sara is a big girl. She's capable of making her own decisions. She knows when someone treats you like shit, there's something better out there. Second of all, you better get your lazy ass off that bed before I kick it off."

Greg immediately scrambled off the bed and looked towards the window where Nick's eye was visible through the peephole.

" And third of all, why do you care so much man? What Sara and I do is really non of your business."

Greg walked over to the window, poking the hanger back through the hole, causing Nick to return to the open window.

" I'm your friend Nick. I just don't want to see you get hurt if she goes back to Grissom."

Nick looked at Greg through the open window, and could tell the younger man was very much concerned for him.

"I appreciate the concern G, but you don't have to worry about me. I can handle myself."

"Greg nodded before Nick presented the hanger to Greg.

"This is how our guy has been peeping. Uses the hanger to get the curtain out of the way, then uses his self-created hole to get a good look at the girls."

Greg took the hanger and examined it.

" So we should call Brass. Have him find out who uses Diamond Star cleaners…"

Greg finished the sentence for him; "We find our peeping tom, and possibly our killer."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*

Sara looked at the house in front of her, wondering how such a quaint-looking neighborhood could be home to murder, porn, and peeping toms. Nick rapped on the door before turning to Sara.

"Brass says this is the only house in the neighborhood who uses Diamond Star Cleaners."

As Nick finished, the door opened to reveal an older woman with a bob-cut.

"May I help you?"

Sara took a step forward.

"Miss Mason? We're with the LVPD. We have a warrant to search your house."

Miss Mason frowned at the warrant Nick handed to her before allowing Nick and Sara to enter. A loud bumping was heard throughout the house and before Nick could ask, the woman answered.

" That's my son, Craig. I can go get him if you'd like."

Sara gave the woman a nod before looking at Nick.

"What exactly are we looking for here?"

Nick listened as the music was cut off before responding to Sara.

" Anything that links either of the Masons to the murder of Ryan Lester."

Sara nodded again before watching as the woman emerged from upstairs followed by a lot of cursing whom she could only presume was coming from the son. The next thing Sara saw wanted to send her running for cover. Craig Mason came down the staircase all in black, his face covered with white paint and black circles around the eyes. Sara leaned over to Nick and whispered, " Marilyn Manson," to which Nick only nodded. Craig's mother gestured for Nick and Sara to head upstairs and both were more than eager to leave the room.

Approaching the son's door, Nick got the impression that they were in the right place. Opening the door, causing a drawn out creak, Sara was the first to enter the room. She immediately wrinkled her nose as she got a whiff of something horrid in the room. Nick was quick to comment on it.

" What is that ungodly smell?"

Sara flipped on her flashlight and did a sweep of the room. Craig's room just screamed creepy. Not only was the room completely shrouded in darkness, but it was also decorated with Halloween masks and other decorations. Sara's light landed on a paper bag, alongside a hanger.

"Diamond Star Cleaners," Sara stated as she headed off in the direction of the bag. Peeking in the bag. Sara immediately grimaced before delicately picking it up.

" I think this might be the source of that smell."

She brought the bag over to Nick who peered inside.

" Is that a crow?"

Sara nodded.

"Rumor has it that people who are Satanists collect crows to keep the smell of death around them."

Nick made a face before taking the bag from Sara.

"How morbid. Where did you learn that?"

Sara shook her head before turning back to the room.

"Not gonna happen Stokes."

Nick looked at the crow again, cringing and laying the bag by the door before going to help Sara.

"Come on Sara, just tell me."

Sara shook her head again before picking up the hanger and bagging it.

"You're going to laugh."

Nick moved over to the computer before pulling out the ALS from his field kit.

" No I won't. Did Grissom teach you that?"

Sara let out a chuckle before continuing to scan the room fro things looking out of place.

" There is no reason for Grissom to know that kind of information."

" Has that ever stopped him before?"

Sara giggled as she began to examine one of the masks on the son's desk. Nick smiled as Sara's laughter rang through the air.

"You can trust me Sidle."

Nick turned to look at Sara, who tore her attention from the mask to look at Nick. They stood like that for a few seconds before Sara's mouth curled into a small smile followed by Nick's.

" You promise to not laugh or tell a soul?"

Nick made an "x" over his heart and responded, " Cross my heart."

Sara took a deep breath.

"Two summers ago, I was obsessed with Ozzy Osbourne's Black Sabbath."

Nick's smile grew.

" Who would've thought that Sara Sidle was an Ozzy fan!"

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me cowboy."

Nick looked at the teasing smile on Sara's face and chuckled.

"Well maybe one of these days, I'll take the time to discover the mysteries of Sara Sidle."

Sara's teasing smile turned into a genuine one.

"I would like that. A lot."

Both gave each other a final smile before turning back to their work. Sara looked at the mask again and let out a gasp causing Nick to cease his search.

"What's wrong Sara?"

Sara pointed at the mask.

"I've seen this before."

Nick approached Sara and shrugged his shoulders.

" So have I, in every store around Halloween time."

Sara lightly hit Nick's chest.

"I'm serious Nick. This mask is so familiar."

She caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye and shifted her attention to it. She knelt down by the bed and produced a plastic severed hand. That was when it hit Sara.

"What was the boy's name again?"

Nick looked at Sara, a confused look spread over his face.

"Craig. Craig Mason, why?"

Sara looked at the severed hand to the mask, and back again.

"Mason. As in Judge Mason?"

She turned to look at Nick who now had a look of surprise on his face.

"Paul Millander's son?"

Sara looked at the severed hand again, but was drawn from her search by Nick's voice calling her name. She looked up to see Nick holding a razor blade with the ALS illuminating what appeared to be bloodstains.

"Like father, like son."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Sara sat in the processing room, staring at the evidence in front of her, when Nick entered followed shortly by Greg.

"We've got a problem," Greg stated as he and Nick stood behind Sara. Sara let out a large sigh before handing a piece of paper behind her.

"Join the club."

Nick looked at Greg before taking the paper from Sara's outreached hand.

"The blood on the blade is Mason's?"

Sara placed her head in her hand.

"He's been cutting himself. When he was in interrogation, I noticed the scars on his arms."

Nick handed the paper back to her before Greg started to speak, " I think ours tops yours."

Sara looked up at Greg.

"What is the one thing you never want to find at a crime scene?"

Sara's eyes widened as she picked her head up.

"You found another body!?"

Nick then laid several pictures down in front of Sara.

"Meet Kelo, drug dealer who lives next door to the Masons."

Sara spread the pictures in front of her.

"This just keeps getting better."

"It gets even better," Greg stated. Pointing to one of the pictures, Greg continued.

"Killed in the same way as Lester, only difference is these abrasions on his neck. Also, here's the cherry on top. Both the drug dealer and Lester were killed around the same time. Doc can't tell us who died first."

Sara let out another sigh before looking up at Nick.

"I hate being at square one."

Nick placed a hand on Sara's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"I know Sunshine, I know."

While Sara turned her attention back to the pictures, Nick chanced a look over at Greg who was grinning like an idiot and batting his eyelashes. Nick used his free hand to smacked Greg's arm causing him to contort his face in pain. Sara's eyes were trained on the new photos of the drug dealer. Nothing was adding up. They had evidence to place Craig at Lester's house but seemingly nothing to place him at the drug dealer's house. Miss Mason seemed to want nothing to do with her son, meaning he would remain in jail until he was either cleared or someone paid his bail. What they really needed was a new set of eyes.

Standing up from her chair, Sara headed towards the door only to be stopped by the men's voices. She turned to look at her male co-workers.

"We need a pair of fresh eyes to look at the evidence we've been staring at for hours. We need someone, anyone who will help us move past square one."

With that being said, Sara left the room, only to return a few moments later with Catherine in tow.

"Sara filled me in on the way over," Catherine exclaimed as she moved to the other side of the table while Sara returned to her seat in front of Nick and Greg.

"Sounds like you guys are in a bit of a pickle."

Greg nodded his head and Nick moved from behind Sara to next to her to get a better look at the evidence.

"I don't understand," Nick started," This seemed like a homerun with Craig."

Sara looked at the evidence, hoping that she would spot something that they had missed before. Catherine's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"You've got all the right players, Nick. You just need to reshuffle the line-up."

Sara's head snapped up.

"We're putting the cart before the horse."

Greg put up a hand up.

"Can we stop with the analogies? What are you two getting at?"

Sara turned her head to look at Greg.

"Why have we been so focused on Craig Mason?"

Greg raised an eyebrow at Sara.

"Because he's creepy and he's Paul Millander's adopted son."

Sara nodded her head and Nick was now looking on the table, seemingly searching for something specific. Greg still was completely lost. Catherine rolled her eyes before deciding to end Greg's misery.

" If Craig Mason were not Paul Millander's son, would you be so focused on trying to convict him?"

Nick grabbed a paper bag from the table.

"Thanks Cath. I think you may have moved us from square one to halfway through the game board."

Sara turned in her chair to look at Nick.

"What are you thinking Nick?"

Nick emptied the bag, causing Marnie Bennett's shirt, as well as Harvey Wincroft's shirt to fall onto the evidence table.

" Sara, you stay here with me. Greg, go check on Craig. See if he knows anything about his neighbors."

Greg gave Nick a mock salute before leaving the room, followed by Catherine. Sara moved from her chair and began to organize the rest of the evidence to make room for the shirts.

" What are you planning to do with these?"

Nick handed Marnie's shirt to Sara before spreading Harvey's shirt onto the table face up.

"We're going to mix up our batting order."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

The door to the jail cell opened with a click as Sara entered to an upset looking Craig.

"Hey there Craig. You're free to go."

Craig looked up from his bed to look at Sara.

" Did my mom bail me out?"

Sara shook her head.

" My friend Nick experimented with a hunch. We were able to clear you."

Craig gave a small nod of his head. The room was silent for a few moments before Sara spoke up.

" Do you want me to call your mom to come pick you up?"

Craig let out a dry laugh.

"She wouldn't come even if you paid her."

Sara moved into the cell and took a seat next to Craig on the hard wooden bed.

"I'm sure that's not true."

Craig turned to look at Sara and for the first time, Sara was surprised to see a small tormented boy instead of the hard, gothic teenager.

" She's convinced I'm going to turn into him. The masks and the hand molds are the smallest pieces of him that I am able to hold onto. He was my idol and all my mom can see is this crazed psycho. She wouldn't come for him, and she won't come for me."

Craig placed his head in both of his hands, staring at the ground for a few moments before Sara finally spoke.

"Come on Craig. I'll take you home."

Craig looked up at Sara, and Sara gave him a reassuring smile before helping him up and escorting out of the tightly cramped jail cell.

The car ride over was mostly silent until Sara turned onto Craig's street only to be stopped by a small collection of police cars parked in the middle of the road. Sara quickly parked her car before turning to Craig.

" Wait here for a minute. I'm going to go see what's going on."

Sara exited her car and approached the commotion. Harvey Wincroft was standing at his door, a young girl next to him, and his wife behind him. She quickly identified Nick and Jim in front of Harvey, seemingly trying to calm him down. As she drew closer, she noticed that Harvey was holding a gun, and immediately felt her heart speed up. Brass had now backed away from Harvey, leaving Nick in the open by himself. The blood thumping in her ears was almost more than Sara could take. The few minutes that Nick was standing there seemed to last a lifetime for Sara.

As Nick finally walked away from the scene, the daughter securely in his arms, Sara approached from behind him and laid a hand on his arm. Nick didn't even have to look to know who it was, and as soon as the girl's mother was allowed to join the group, Nick relinquished his hold on the little girl before wrapping his arm around Sara's shoulder. Shortly after, Harvey surrendered, allowing both Nick and Sara to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked as he chanced a look at Sara who was now looking up at him.

"I was dropping Craig off when I saw the commotion."

"Harvey was a good guy Sar. He had a good family and a good home. Sometimes its hard to really understand why people do some of the things that they do."

Sara nodded before turning back to the scene in front of her.

"It's not our job to understand why they do it Nick."

" I know. You just wonder sometimes. What can bring a person to murder? To take another person's life."

Sara watched Brass bring Harvey to the car and laid her head on Nick's shoulder.

"That's what makes you a good CSI, Nick. You don't treat these people like statistics. You treat them as human beings."

Nick looked down at Sara's dark locks that had fanned themselves across his shoulder.

" That may be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Sara smiled before looking up at Nick.

" You deserve it. You deserve a lot of things Nick. You're a great guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

" I don't just want any girl, Sara."

Sara moved her head off Nick's shoulder and was looking intently at him while Nick returned the look with the same intensity. Sara felt herself slowly move closer to him, and was surprised when Nick also moved closer. She could hear her heart, thudding in her ears, anticipating the moment the Nick's lips would collide with her own. They were inches apart, when a buzz in both of their pockets pulled them apart immediately. Flipping open her phone, Sara looked at the message from Catherine while Nick rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

" It's a text from Catherine. Looks like she needs us back at the lab ASAP."

Nick nodded his head while Sara replaced her phone in her pocket.

" So, we'll talk later?"

Nick nodded again, leaving Sara feeling embarrassed.

"Okay, bye then."

Nick gave a little wave of his hand as Sara walked back to her car, and finished dropping Craig off before turning back around in the direction of the lab. Nick silently cursed under his breath as he walked back to his car. Upon reaching it, he leaned his head against the window.

" That could've gone better."

Nick then got in his car, revved up the engine and started back towards the lab, praying he hadn't completely ruined his chances with Sara.

**I know, I'm mean. Making you wait for that Snickers kiss you so badly desire. I promise you will get one soon. **

**Reviews make me happy. =)**

**Xoxo, Cait**


	3. Chapter 3: Working Stiffs

**Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! I didn't like the third episode as much, wasn't too fond of knowing who the killer was before our C.S.I.s. Plus, Sara wasn't even in the episode. Surprisingly though, I had an easier time writing this chapter then I did the last. **

**A big thanks goes out to my roomie who helped me out with a few of the scenes with Sara and Catherine!**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing, although I did just buy Season 1 of Castle! =D**

"Sorry I'm late," Greg said as he approached Ray who was leaning over the body. " What have we got?"

Ray felt Greg kneel down beside him and was about to explain when a third party beat him to the punch.

"Male Caucasian, early 20's. He was bludgeoned on the back of the head and has several defensive wounds on his wrist. No id, wallet, or cash."

Greg looked up to see Nick leaning up against a tree nearby, only illuminated by a thin sliver of moonlight.

" Didn't see you there, man! Haven't seen you in awhile! How have you been?"

"Fine," Nick stated curtly, causing Greg to frown. Ray looked over to Greg.

" Don't worry about him," he said softly. " He's been like that for a week. No one really knows why."

Greg had his suspicions on what could be bothering his friend, but wasn't about to voice it out loud to Ray.

"Where the hell is David?" Nick questioned as he moved away from the crime scene to wander over by the department-issued Denali. Greg tensed as Nick left and beside him, Ray let out a sigh.

"I would say something to him, but I don't know him well enough to actually get through to him," Ray admitted. Greg nodded his head. If Ray said something to Nick, it was quite likely that the good doctor would get his head chewed off. It was better when Nick got into these types of moods to just let him ride it out.

Pulling his phone out, Greg began to dial a familiar number before placing the receiver to his ear.

"Who are you calling?" Ray asked as he turned his attention back to the body.

"I'm calling Sara. If anyone knows what's wrong with Nick, she will. Besides, if Nick is going to be all pissy, his work may be affected. Another pair of hands couldn't hurt."

It rang a few times before Sara's cheerful voice rang out from the other end.

"Sidle."

"Hey Sara, it's Greg."

He heard Sara chuckle over the phone.

"I know Greg. I do have your number programmed into my phone."

Greg noticed that Nick was now making his way back over to the body, Dave close behind, so he moved out of earshot.

"Nick would tell you anything right?"

There was a pause on the other end before Sara responded.

"I would like to think so. He and I are best friends. Why?"

Nick, Ray, and Dave's voices were now clearly heard in the clearing causing Greg to move even further away.

"So if something would've pissed him off this past week, he would've told you about it?"

"Get to the point Greg."

Greg took a deep breath.

"He's been acting like a real ass since last week Sara. He's getting angry over the smallest things, and frankly it's gotten Ray and myself a little worried for him."

He heard Sara sigh over the phone.

" I wish I could help you Greg, but the truth is, I haven't spoken to Nick since last week Thursday."

With that one little confirmation from Sara, Greg felt like all his suspicions were confirmed.

" Did something happen between you and Nick?"

"As fun as this has been Greg, I think Catherine needs me. I'll see you later!"

Before Greg could protest, the call ended with a click. Grumbling, he placed the phone back in his pocket before turning around and coming face to face with a very angry-looking Nick Stokes.

"This is a crime scene, Sanders. No time for social calls."

Greg rolled his eyes.

" It wasn't a social call. I had to ask Sara a question."

With the small mention of Sara, Greg could've sworn he saw something spark in Nick's eyes.

" Did she tell you why she hasn't been returning my calls?"

Greg raised an eyebrow at Nick before a look of shock came over his face.

" She rejected you, didn't she!"

Nick folded his arms over his chest.

" No she didn't Greg."

But nothing was going to stop Greg now.

" Ladies man Nick Stokes got turned down by the beautiful Sara Sidle. No wonder you've been in such a sour mood! Sara rejected you!"

Nick was glaring daggers at Greg now, getting angrier at every word coming out of Greg's mouth.

" She didn't reject me Greg. She's definitely avoiding me, for God only knows what reason, but she is. I repeat, she is avoiding, not rejecting."

Greg was now frowning at Nick.

"Hello! Earth to Nick! Remember what I told you last week? She's still in love with Grissom! I knew this was going to happen!"

Now it was Nick's turn to roll his eyes.

"I don't think this is a Grissom thing Greggo. I know Sara well enough to know that she would tell me if that were the case. Just trust me on this one G. Sara's avoiding me for another reason."

Greg shook his head before placing a hand on Nick's shoulder.

" When she finally talks to you and tells you she's going back to Grissom, don't come whining to me about it."

Greg then walked back to Ray, leaving Nick alone with his thoughts in the clearing. He hoped Greg was wrong.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Sara felt like everyone was looking at her as she emerged from Catherine's office. Trying to shake the feeling off, she wandered don the hall, back to her processing room. As she walked, she could swear that the whispers of the lab techs were following her.

"Poor girl, I heard Grissom dumped her."

"Someone told me she is using Stokes as her rebound guy."

" Rumor has it that Stokes didn't want her either. Told her he deserved something way better."

Sara stopped where she was in the hallway and took a deep breath before turning around and heading back to Catherine's office. As soon as she reached the door, she slammed it shut behind her and whipped around to see a stunned Catherine.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

Catherin slowly nodded her head and watched as Sara took a seat across from her.

"What's on your mind Sara?"

Sara was trying very hard to take calming breaths, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult.

" Why do people think it's okay to talk about others behind their backs?"

Catherine leaned back in her chair and began to fiddle with her pen.

" You came in here to talk about gossiping?"

"Yes."

Catherine gave Sara a look, causing Sara to let out a sigh.

"I've been avoiding Nick."

Catherine put her pen down and gave Sara her full attention. It was seldom that Sara ever put herself out there, and for once she was opening herself up to Catherine.

"Why have you been avoiding Nick?"

Sara leaned back in her chair causing Catherine to lean forward.

"I'm scared Catherine."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. Sara closed her eyes before continuing to speak what was one her mind.

"I have a horrible track record with men. My dad was abusive, Hank cheated on me, Grissom cared more about his bugs than me, and now Nick."

Catherine let out a small smile. She had always thought that Nick and Sara complimented each other really well and to hear that something was possibly blossoming between them helped put the smile on her face.

"Nick's a good guy Sara. He would never do anything like that to you."

Sara let out a bit of a scoff before opening her eyes.

"His reputation precedes him."

Catherine got out of her chair and knelt down beside Sara.

"Reputations don't define a person. All it takes is one person to change that entire reputation."

Sara looked up at Catherine thoughtfully.

"Do you really believe that?"

"With my entire being. Besides, Nick's reputation is definitely a thing of the past. The only girl he's ever dated since he's been here was Kristy Hopkins, unless you know something that I don't."

Sara shook her head slowly.

"If he did, he didn't tell me."

Catherine stood up and walked back over to her desk.

"Judging from what I've seen, he tells you everything."

Taking a seat back in her overstuffed chair, she made sure she had Sara's full attention before beginning to speak again.

"I have yet to see a chemistry as strong as yours and Nicks between any couples I have ever known. You don't take this chance with Nick I guarantee you will regret it for the rest of your life. Give him a chance Sidle."

Sara opened her mouth to say something when a knock was heard on Catherine's door. Catherine uttered a come in and the door opened to reveal Ray and Greg.

"Found something on our guy we'd like you to see," Ray stated before giving a small smile to Sara.

"We also want to talk to you about Nick."

Catherine looked at Sara then back to Greg.

"Seems to be a popular topic today."

Sara gave Catherine a threatening look, which was ignored by the older woman.

"Come on Sara, let's go see if we can help the guy's out."

Ray held the door open as the ladies exited.

"Doc got something out of our guy's wrist. It's small and we think it could be a tracking device or something."

As Catherine and Ray walked ahead, both Greg and Sara fell back. Greg then turned to Sara.

"What did you talk to Cath about?"

Sara kept her eyes trained ahead as she responded to Greg's question.

"It's really none of your business Greg."

As they continued walking, she heard Greg sigh.

"Come on Sara, you can tell me."

Sara stopped and looked at Greg.

"Please just drop it Greg. For me? Just this once?"

Greg considered the pleading look on his friends face before agreeing. Sara gave Greg a final nod before the pair moved to catch up with Catherine and Ray who were just entering the evidence room. Nick was examining something under the microscope causing Sara to stop in the doorframe.

"Ray said you guys found something."

Nick looked up from the microscope and backed away to allow Catherine to get a better look.

"This isn't a tracking device, it's an arphid. People have started using these as their ids for buildings," Catherine stated after a moment of having her eyes to the microscope. Satisfied with her discovery, Catherine backed away to look at her team.

"Give me a scanner and a few minutes alone with this aphid and I should have a name for your victim."

Catherine then looked to Sara.

"Could you go grab me a scanner? As soon as I get a name, you can head out with the boys to gather more evidence about our John Doe."

Nick now looked up and registered that Sara was in the room with them. He noticed Sara's face call.

"Isn't there something you need me to do here?"

Catherine frowned at the brunette.

"You'll go with the boys. It's where I need you to be. Do I make myself clear?"

Sara nodded her head.

"Good, now go get that scanner."

Sara quickly left the room to grab Catherine's scanner.

"Crap," she muttered as she walked down the long hallway.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

As they approached the small cubicle that belonged to Jason Devereux, Sara made sure to maintain her distance behind Nick and Greg who were walking in front of her. After Catherine had discovered the victim's name, it had taken the other CSIs a few moments to pull up his house and workplace information. Although Sara had begged Catherine to let her come with her and Ray to the victim's house, Catherine had reminded her that things were only going to get worse if she continued the way she was going before sending Sara on her way to the support operations building for the Tangiers with Nick and Greg.

The car ride over was extremely unproductive. Neither Nick nor Sara said a word to each other and only opened their mouth if Greg had asked them a question. They arrived at the IT guy's desk and swiftly placed their kits on the ground before placing their gloves on.

"Let's get to work!" Greg exclaimed as he headed for the far end of the desk. Without a word, Nick moved to the other end, leaving Sara with the middle. Letting out a sigh, Sara began her work of the computer space. A rather large moving picture of the deceased moved along the screen as Sara began to pull up files and documents from the computer. As she shifted her way through the documents, she heard someone clear their throat and immediately looked up.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing with Jason's stuff?" asked a smartly dressed blonde.

"He was murdered last night. We're combing through his stuff looking for evidence," replied Sara.

The woman's hand flew to her mouth and her complexion paled, almost making Sara believe that the woman would pass out.

"I'm sorry for your loss Miss…"

"Belinda," the blondes barely uttered. "Belinda Mayfield. I was Jason's direct supervisor."

Nick was now looking up from his work to look at Belinda.

"Do you know of anyone that held a grudge against him? May have wanted him dead?" he asked, surprising Sara slightly who hadn't thought he was paying any attention. Belinda shook her head furiously.

"Oh no! Everyone loved Jason! He was so good with people!"

"Apparently not with everyone," whispered Greg causing Sara to bite her tongue to prevent herself from laughing.

"Thank you very much Belinda. We'll let you know if we find anything," Nick added as the blonde nodded before walking away. Nick then snapped his attention to Greg.

"Was that necessary?"

Greg put his hands up in defense.

"It just came out. It was a little joke! Completely harmless!"

Sara could've sworn she saw Nick's eyes flare.

"It wasn't harmless. It clearly bothered that woman! Unprofessional!"

Nick then turned his attention to Sara.

"I'm ashamed of both of you."

Nick then turned back to his work, leaving Sara speechless. She could feel the fury building inside her. She pulled a flash drive from her kit before plugging it into Jason's computer and extracting all of the files for Archie. She felt a vibration in her pocket and pulled out her phone and quickly flipped open her phone.

"Sidle."

"You are never going to guess what we discovered at the vic's apartment," Catherine's voice stated on the other line.

"What did you get?" Sara asked as she watched the flash drive's progress.

"First of all, Devereux has apparently been banging half of the girls in that office."

Sara grimaced.

"You've got to be kidding. How disgusting!"

She felt Nick's eyes on her again.

"As I told Greg last night, a crime scene is no place for a social call."

Sara's brow furrowed and she glared at Nick.

"It's Catherine, Nick. Excuse me for answering my supervisor's call. Me and my unprofessional self will be outside."

Sara then got out of her chair and left the office, leaving a stunned looking Nick and a smirking Greg.

"I would hate to be you right now. Enjoying the wrath of Sara Sidle?"

Nick glared at Greg.

"Shut up Greg."

Meanwhile outside, Sara was continuing her conversation with Catherine.

"Sorry about that Cath. I don't know what has gotten into Nick."

Catherine's voice immediately turned sympathetic.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe later. What else did you find?"

Catherine described the stolen objects taken from Jason's apartment.

"We managed to track down his laptop. Archie did his magic and it turns out our victim was hacking into his co-workers' computers."

Sara let out a scoff.

"So much for everybody loved him."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind, continue please."

Catherine then talked about the victim's car.

"It was still at the apartments. Found a lovely stain on the front seat though. DNA results show our victim, Jason Devereux, and a Belinda Mayfield."

Sara quickly stopped Catherine.

"Wait a minute, did you say Belinda Mayfield?"

"Yeah. Why? Do you know her?"

Sara switched her phone to the other ear.

"Greg, Nick, and I met her a few moments ago. She failed to mention she was sleeping with him."

She heard Catherine write something down.

"If she knew about the other girls, it would have given her motive."

Sara moved to head back to the office.

"Want us to bring her in for interrogation?"

"I'll have Brass get a warrant?"

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Belinda was providing Brass with nothing leaving the group of CSIs at a standstill. Greg had discovered a flash drive in Belinda's purse that contained all of the access codes and passwords to different parts of the business building. Brass entered the break room where Catherine, Ray, Nick, Greg, and Sara all sat looking very defeated.

"I get the impression that Belinda is a victim here, not a suspect."

The group let out a collective sigh.

"There goes our only open lead," Catherine stated.

"I think I may have something to cheer you guys up," Hodges exclaimed as he entered the room.

"If its subscriptions to your new video blog, you can leave now."

Hodges glanced over at Sara.

"Hardy, har, har, that was a good one Sidle."

Sara shrugged her shoulders.

"I have my moments."

"Just spit it out before I knock it out of you Hodges," Nick said causing everyone to look at him. Hodges put his hands on his hips.

"If you're going to threaten me with violence, I will tell you nothing."

Sara rolled her eyes and Catherine quickly took matters into her own hands.

"What do you have for us Hodges?"

Hodges positioned himself so he was facing Catherine.

"Highway patrol found a large piece of metal on the side of the road. Not only does it match the piece found by Ray at he scene, but it also had blood on it. I had Wendy test the blood and we got a match to Jason Devereux."

As Hodges talked, the entire CSI team rose to their feet.

"You got us a murder weapon!" Greg shouted giddily.

Hodges now turned to look at Greg.

"Not only did I get you a murder weapon, my friend. I believe I can tell you what exactly our vic was doing in the woods."

The CSIs stood in silence as they waited for Hodges to continue.

"Well, what was he doing?" Ray asked expectantly.

"The big piece of metal that was found was part of a safe. I figure the explosive residue you found…"

"…meant our guy was blowing up a safe! The presence of the water could mean they were trying something like in that movie the Score." Nick exclaimed, heading for the door.

"Great movie!" Greg yelled.

Catherine now took charge of the situation.

"Nick and Sara, look at those files Jason hacked from his co-workers. It's possible that whomever knocked him over the head was also an accomplice for his plan."

Neither Sara not Nick registered that they would be working with the other as they wandered into the AV lab. As soon as the door shut, both stopped in their tracks and turned to face the other. Sara felt the anger returning from before and immediately snapped on Nick.

"So you think I can handle looking through some files, or will I be unprofessional about that as well?"

Nick folded his arms over his chest and returned Sara's hard glare.

"I don't know. I figured you were capable of picking up a phone to call people back, but you've proven me wrong on that front."

Sara immediately took a step back and shifted her eyes downward.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

To make up for Sara's step back, Nick took several steps forward.

"Don't play dumb with me Sara. You've been avoiding me. The only problem is, I don't understand why."

Sara shook her head furiously, causing Nick to continue his approach towards Sara.

"I was under the impression that you wanted this as well," Nick said as he gestured between the two of them. Sara's head snapped up.

"I don't know what I want Nick!" Sara yelled while trying to keep many of her other emotions at bay.

"Grissom is not worth it Sara."

Sara now took several steps forward so she was in front of Nick.

" Don't you dare start with me. Don't pretend like you know me and what's best for me," Sara exclaimed, shoving an accusing finer into Nick's chest.

"I do know you Sunshine."

Nick's tone had calmed considerably, but Sara's anger was still flaring.

"Don't you "Sunshine" me! I have a name Nick! It's Sara!"

Nick placed a hand on either side of Sara, trying to calm her shaking form, surprised when she didn't pull away.

"You can do so much better than Grissom and Hank. You're worth so much more."

Sara turned her sad eyes to look up at Nick.

"I'm damaged goods Nick. I've been broken beyond repair."

Nick lifted a hand, carefully brushing a piece of hair out of Sara's face before caressing her cheek.

"I can fix you Sara. You just need to give me the chance."

As their faces drew closer together, Sara managed to utter, " You can't fix me."

"Let me try."

Before Sara could respond, she felt Nick's lips capture her own. The kiss was slow, soft, and tender with more passion than Sara had ever gotten from Grissom or Hank. The kiss ended much too soon for Sara's liking. As the two stood there, foreheads resting together, Nick was the first one to speak.

"How am I doing so far?"

Sara allowed a soft giggle to escape her mouth before moving her head so she could look at Nick.

"I think I'll need a few more appointments to be able to give you a straight answer."

Nick chuckled.

"I'd be happy to schedule those appointments for you, Miss Sidle."

Nick moved in to kiss her again when Sara turned her head so he ended up kissing her cheek instead.

"As much as I would love to be unprofessional, we do need to check on those papers. Rain check?"

Nick now had resumed back to his position in front of her.

"You can guarantee that will be one rain check that won't be delayed."

Sara smiled as she moved over to one of the computers and opened the files from Jason's computer. After several minutes of skimming the files, Sara pulled one up onto the projector,

"Hey Nick, check out what I found."

Nick moved from his own spot to walk behind Sara and peer at the document.

"Safe-breaking, an escape strategy…sounds like this is our guy. Got a name?"

Sara glanced back at the screen.

"Paulie Krill."

Nick nodded before heading towards the door.

"I'll get a hold of Brass then take you up on that rain check."

As Nick left, Sara felt herself blushing as she closed the documents they had been examining. As she exited the room, she made herself a note to thank Catherine for convincing her that Nick would be worth taking the chance.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Greg re-entered the CSI building, a large frown plastered upon his face Ray followed shortly after him looking just as downtrodden. Catherine intercepted them on the way to the locker room.

"How did it go?"

Greg looked up at Catherine, but Ray was the one to answer the question.

"We found him at the building, down in the basement, just as he was exploding the safe."

Greg then took over.

"His experiment worked but ended up killing him in the process."

Catherine's eyebrows kitted together, and she was also frowning.

"He died? How?"

"The safe door," Ray answered. "The force of the explosion caused the door to fly off its hinges and lodge itself into his abdomen."

"It was gruesome Cath," Greg stated. I really just want to get my stuff and head home."

Catherine nodded and let the boys pass before stopping them again.

"Have you guys seen Nick? I need him to finish some paperwork."

Both Greg and Ray shook their heads.

"If we see him, we'll let him know you're looking for him."

The three then headed towards the locker room in order to prepare to go home. Greg reached the door first and slowly opened it to reveal Nick and Sara locked in a rather passionate series of kisses. Catherine smiled as Greg let out a sigh and slowly closing the door before handing Catherine a 20 dollar bill. Ray let out a chuckle.

"You guys made a bet on them?"

Catherine nodded while Greg groaned.

"I bet Greg they would get together within the month. Greg was sure it would take longer."

"I thought Sara would take longer to crack!" Greg stated as both Catherine and Ray laughed.

"This day has just sucked."

Catherine placed a hand on Greg's shoulder.

"Cheer up Greg. At least you won't have to deal with pissy Nick anymore."

Greg let a thoughtful look cross his face.

"How long should we wait before we go in there?"

Catherine considered the question for a moment before responding.

"Give them a few minutes more."

Greg groaned as Catherine left the two boys outside of the locker room, slowly counting down the seconds and willing them to go faster.

**So you finally got your Snickers kiss! I enjoyed writing this one!**

**Reviews would be lovely! 3**

**Xoxo Cait**


	4. Author's Note

Hey everyone, I've got a few things for you.

First of all, this next week is going to be really rough on me and thus, the likelihood of me producing the fourth episode for you is slim to none. The university I attend is starting their midterms this week into next, and I have my plate full with Philosophy, History of the Middle East and Egypt, as well as Theology. Also, since the new episode of the 10th season won't actually be on until October 29th, I feel like I can afford to put off this chapter. I'm sorry if this upsets anyone, but I do promise to have it up before the 5th episode premieres on the 29th.

Second, did anyone read about Jorja Fox? Luck for us CSI fans, it sounds like she's going to be hanging around a lot longer than the original 5 episodes she was planned for! How exciting! Here's what I read…

**Fox's CSI comeback is now extended**

CSI' star Jorja Fox's five-episode comeback on the crime series has been extended indefinitely.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, the show's executive producer, Carol Mendelsohn, said:

"We will be seeing a lot more of Jorja. The season is about bringing the ['CSI'] family back together again, so [this] was just a natural. Jorja has been the glue that has really helped to reform the bond of our team."

It has yet to be decided on the amount of episodes that Fox, who plays Sara Sidle, will appear in.

Mendelsohn said: "From our point of view, the more the better. As many episodes as we can have Jorja for we want her for."

The producer added that there were no plans at present for Grissom (William Petersen) to return to Las Vegas.

Source: .

I think this will definitely be a good thing. I know there has been rumors saying the only reason they are keeping Fox is to boost the ratings, but I think Jorja missed the show. =)

I promise to have your next chapter for you before the premiere of Bloodsport on the 29th!

Cait


	5. Chapter 4: Coup de Grace

**I am very sorry for this chapter being late! In my defense, this past week was jam-packed with midterms, but I still managed to crank out a chapter. However, it is completely my fault that the chapter did not get up before tonight's episode. I was in the car from 4:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. when I arrived home for my midterm break.**

**Disclaimer: I once again own nothing. My room at home even looks REALLY different from how I left it over the summer! =/**

The crowd was buzzing as Catherine, Sara, and Nick approached the body lying in the middle of the burger joint's parking lot. Brass was standing off to the side, interviewing as officer.

"Quite the audience we've got tonight," Sara stated as she set her field kit down on the asphalt.

"This neighborhood has been a hotspot for a while now," answered Nick as he placed his field kit next to Sara's. Sara peeked over at the crowd, who seemed to be getting more reckless by the minute.

"Think they know the victim?"

Nick tore his eyes away from the body to look at Sara.

"We won't know until we process the body."

Sara turned her attention back to Nick before slowly nodding her head and kneeling down beside David.

"Bit of a mess," David started. " He's got three GSWs. One in the left kidney, one through the thigh, and another through his upper torso."

Sara opened her field kit to remove her tweezers before picking a bullet off the ground.

"Looks like one of these was a through and through."

As she bagged the bullet, Catherine and Brass approached, both with grim expressions on their faces.

"What did you find out?" Nick asked as David flipped the body over so the victim was now lying on his back.

"Officer on the scene said our victim was pointing a gun at something beyond his view. He saw the gun. Shot our vic," Catherine exclaimed before turning to Brass.

"He says he shot the victim three times from behind the door of his cruiser before the victim fell and he handcuffed him," Brass finished as Sara spotted another bullet that appeared to have come from the victim's upper torso. As she was bagging it, Catherine continued to talk.

"The crowd over there is convinced that the officer shot him after he was down."

Sara looked up at Catherine and Brass.

" They're saying our officer murdered our victim after he was down?"

Catherine nodded when she saw a thoughtful look cross Sara's face.

"What are you thinking Sar?" Nick asked. Sara held up her bag containing the second bullet she had found.

"I spotted this after David rolled the victim over. It was located under his chest. I can only think of two ways that could have happened."

Catherine took the bag from Sara's outstretched hand before responding to Sara.

" Either he was shot from a distance and the bullet got caught in the clothes or he was shot after he was down."

"Great," Brass stated, " This just got a little more complicated.

Nick, who had been quiet until this point, was fishing the victim's pockets when he pulled out a wallet. Sara noticed Nick's movement and turned her attention to him.

"Did you get an I.D?"

Nick opened the wallet and his eyes immediately grew wide.

"Things just got a whole lot more complicated."

Catherine's brow furrowed and Sara leaned over to see what Nick was looking at. There, glinting from the streetlights was an LVPD badge.

"He was a cop."

Brass let out a sigh before Catherine held out her hand for the wallet.

"Please tell you're kidding and the badge is plastic," Brass said as Catherine ran her gloved hand over the badge.

"Not such luck Brass. It's real."

Catherine then flipped the small divider over to look at the man's license.

"Sergeant Scott Johnson."

Catherine then handed the wallet to Brass.

"Get Greg and Ray on the phone," Brass said as he handed the wallet back to Nick.

"We're going to need everyone for this one."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Sara stood behind the glass, watching carefully as Catherine and Brass questioned Danny Flynn who had been the officer who shot Johnson. Flynn was clueless as to what was wrong, making Sara want to question the officer for herself. Catherine has replayed the dispatch call for the group when they had returned, and Flynn's referring to Johnson as a "black son of a bitch" infuriated Sara. Brass was now questioning Flynn about Johnson having been his partner when Sara felt a pair of hands on her shoulder. She felt herself immediately relax.

"How are you holding up?" Nick asked as he watched the scene in front of him. Leaning back into Nick's chest, Sara let out a large sigh.

"I hate this. Not only did this man make a racist slur over dispatch, but he also has a complaint from Johnson for using racially charged words when he had been his partner. His own partner Nick."

Nick wrapped his arms around Sara, allowing them to rest on her abdomen before kissing her temple gently.

"You know, at a conference I attended the speaker made mention that a person only has 1/3 of a second to decide to use their gun or not. Only 1/3 of a second…"

"You react on instinct. But no one's first instinct should be to call anyone a "son of a bitch", Nick."

The two were silent before Nick spoke up again.

"As it stands, the evidence isn't supporting his statement."

Sara looked up at Nick curiously.

"We found one bullet casing on the windshield, a second in the passenger seat of the car, but the third…"

"It was no where near that police car was it?"

Nick shook his head.

"Ray found it rolled against the gate surrounding White House burger, exactly where the shell casing would have landed if Flynn had been standing over the body."

Sara looked back into the interrogation room and could feel the anger beginning to rise to the surface. Nick, however, felt Sara's muscles tense and held her a little closer and dropping a kiss or two onto her hair. The couple watched as Catherine got up from her chair and left the room before appearing next to Nick and Sara.

"We've got some things to go over. Let's head to the break room."

Nick unwrapped his arms from Sara's waist, causing Sara to immediately miss the warmth before the two slowly followed their supervisor to the break room.

"Greg!"

The young man poked his head out of an evidence room and smiled at the group.

"How can I help you?"

"I want you to pretend you are a 53 year old man. We're going to the break room and we'll time how long it takes for you to get to us."

Greg's smile immediately turned to a frown.

"Why do I always have to do the brunt work?"

Catherine rolled her eyes at Greg.

"Suck it up Greg," Sara stated. "You're well rested."

Greg stuck his tongue out at Sara who simply had an impish grin on her face.

"Just wait here until I say go," Catherine threw over her shoulder as the trio continued on their path to the break room. Greg shook out his arms and legs before getting himself into a ready position. A moment later, Catherine's clear voice ran through the hall.

"Ready Greg?"

"I was born ready," Greg quickly responded.

"Go!"

Greg pretended like he had a gun in his hand and lightly jogged into the break room. As soon as Greg arrived, Catherine peered over at her stopwatch.

"Four seconds. Thanks Greg."

Greg did a little bow before taking the empty seat next to Catherine.

"You ran that the way you always run," Nick surmised as he watched the young CSI take his seat.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a 53 year old man trapped in a goofy-looking child's body."

This elicited a giggle from Sara and a smirk from Catherine.

"Laugh it up Stokes. Just because you're jealous of my god-like physique and my charming good looks…"

"Alight children, stop your bickering," Catherine exclaimed sternly as she examined a piece of paper in front of her.

"According to dispatch's log, there was 5.4 seconds between the second shot and the third, and as our resident old man just proved, it only takes four seconds to travel the distance between Flynn's car and the body."

"So it's possible that Flynn delivered the fatal blow while standing over the Sergeant's body," Sara hypothesized after examining the call log.

"Actually, it looks like someone tampered with our crime scene."

Four sets of eyes turned to look at Ray as he entered the room.

"The bullet casing that Nick and I retrieved from the fence not only had a foreign substance on it, but Mandy also lifted a print from the casing. Doesn't belong to Officer Flynn, Sergeant Johnson, or Flynn's partner, Officer Grayson."

Sara and Nick both frowned before Catherine's phone ringing interrupted Ray's discovery. She looked at the text message before letting out an audible sigh.

"We've got a 420 over at an abandoned school."

Catherine looked at Greg who simply shook his head.

"No way Cath. I deserve to be on this case just as much as everyone else does."

Before Catherine could utter a response, Sara spoke up.

"I'll take it."

Catherine and Nick both looked cautiously at Sara,

"Are you sure Sar?"

Sara turned her attention to Nick.

" Of course I'm sure. How many times have I worked a case solo? I'll be fine."

Nick reluctantly nodded before Catherine gave Sara the directions. Sara got up from her chair and exited the room as the rest of the group continued their discussion of Scott Johnson's case. Sara felt her phone vibrating and pulled it out of her pocket. A name began to flash across the screen and Sara's eyes widened. She quickly stuffed the phone back into her pocket before retreating from the lab to her crime scene.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Sara wasn't sure which one was worse. It was a close call between a racist cop who killed another cop and the murder of a young teenager. She had returned from her crime scene feeling even more disgusted with the human race. It continued to amaze her what gruesome things people could do to each other.

"Vegas ceases to amaze me," Sara quietly said as she wandered towards the morgue. She entered the cold room and walked over to the body of her John Doe. She did a swift sweep of the body before pulling out her camera and proceeding to make more pictures. A vibrating sound began to resonate around the room and Sara felt a mid panic pass through her as she reached for her own phone, praying the previous caller hadn't decided to try again. Recognizing that her phone wasn't the culprit, she quickly replaced it before searching her John Doe. As she reached his ankles, she managed to pull the phone out and answer it.

"Hello?"

"Sara?" Nick's questioning voice came from the other end. "Whose phone is this?"

Sara looked at the motionless body in front of her.

"My John Doe from the school. Why?"

Sara heard Nick say something to whoever was in the room with him before returning to the phone.

"His name is Anthony. I think our cases are tied together."

Sara looked at the teen's body.

"Let me just finish up here and then I'll come and meet you guys and tell you what I've got."

"Are you okay Sara?"

Sara allowed a small smile to cross her face. Of course Nick would hear through her calm words straight to her distressed undertones.

"I'm fine Nick."

Sara could see Nick on the other end contemplating whether or not to believe her.

" So we'll talk later?"

"Not if there's nothing to talk about."

"But if there is?"

Sara sighed. She wasn't going to win this battle with Nick.

" Then you will be the first to know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job I have to do."

She ended the call and set about processing Anthony's body. She finished relatively quickly before turning the body over to Doc Robbins. She started down the hallway towards the processing room only to be stopped by Catherine.

"You busy?"

Sara shook her head.

"Perfect. Sergeant Johnson's father arrived a few minutes ago. Could you go and meet him and have him ID the body?"

Sara nodded her head causing Sara to grin and send the brunette on her way. It didn't take long for Sara to find the older man in the parking lot. As she was escorting him inside, Officer Flynn was exiting. The two men shared a look and as Sara watched Flynn walk back to his car, she was filled with a feeling of dread. There had been something in Flynn's eyes that ad left Sara feeling uncomfortable. She watched Flynn get into his car before turning to the Sergeant's father.

"I'll be right back."

Sara then started towards Flynn's car, picking up the pace the longer that the car remained immobile. Just as Sara reached the driver's door there was a flash and a bang.

"Oh please, not now. Please no."

The blood spatter on the window was undeniable and as Sara opened the door the sigh caused her to place a hand to her forehead. Flynn was slumped over the side of his seat, blood trickling from his open mouth, and the gun resting on his lap. Sara closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. After a moment, she opened her eyes and turned to look at the elder Mr. Johnson who was shifting uncomfortably by the doors. Sara pulled out her cell phone and dialed Brass's number. The Homicide Captain picked up on the second ring.

"Brass."

Sara took another deep breath before replying to the captain.

"Jim? It's Sara. I'm outside in the police department parking lot where Officer Flynn just committed suicide."

She heard the older man have a sharp intake of breath.

" Alright, just stay put Sidle. I'll be out in a minute."

Brass ended the call and Sara remained still until she heard the doors swing open as Brass, David, and the rest of the graveyard shift emerged from the confines of the building. Brass put himself between Sara and the body so David could get a better look at Officer Flynn. She then registered Brass guiding her over to the rest of her team. She thought she heard Catherine instruct Nick to take her inside before she felt Nick's strong arms around her shoulders.

"Come on Sunshine," Nick uttered gentle as he ushered the brunette inside. She recognized the lab, AV lab, and the break room before being guided into Nick's office. He dropped her off into his chair before heading to the door and shutting it, much to the chagrin of the lab techs who had been milling about outside. He then turned to look at Sara who now had her attention focused on Nick.

" Seems like you're having a rough day."

Sara scoffed as Nick moved away from the door and approached her.

" I think rough is the understatement of the century."

Nick moved the chair so it was facing him before kneeling down in front of her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Sara shook her head.

"Not really."

Nick lifted his hand and moved Sara's bangs to behind her ear.

"It's not good to bottle these things up Sar."

Sara put her hand on top of Nick's and removed it from her face.

" I'm not bottling things up Nick."

"Then talk to me Sara."

Nick was looking at Sara, pleading with her to give him anything. Sara placed her hands on either side of his face.

"If I start talking now, I won't make it through the rest of this shift."

She then pulled his face to hers and placed a tender kiss on his lips.

"Ask me again after shift."

Sara dropped her hands and stood up from Nick's chair followed shortly by Nick.

"Why don't you come over to my place after shift and I'll make us some breakfast?"

Sara nodded and Nick leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on Sara's forehead.

"I'll see you in a bit," Nick said as he exited the office leaving Sara alone with her thoughts. Her phone began to buzz lightly in her pocket, but this time Sara didn't even bother to look at the caller ID. Whoever it was could leave her a voicemail. She couldn't bear to deal with anything else for the rest of the night.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

After Flynn's unexpected suicide, the CSIs on graveyard were more determined than ever to wrap the exhausting case up. While Ray had gone to help Doc Robbins with Flynn's autopsy, the other four sat around the table in the break room, relaying what they knew.

"We were able to identify the fingerprint on the shell casing," Greg said as he flipped through a few sheets that lay in front of him. "It was the waitress's son Avery. He found the bullet casing and when his mother told him to put it down, he threw it. The jelly on the shell casing was what gave him away."

"We're also sure," Nick started, "that Sergeant Johnson was supposed to be meeting Anthony Lopez that night."

"I can support that claim, " Sara exclaimed as she began flipping through her own set of pictures of Anthony's body before finding the one she was looking for and handing it to Catherine first.

"Anthony was killed by a single gun shot to the throat, which as we all know, is custom in a gang killing of a snitch. We ran some of our evidence through a new program and were able to narrow it down to one gang."

She then displayed two more sheets of papers with pictures of the convicted gang members.

"The D-Street Killers. We're getting them rounded up as we speak."

Catherine peered at the pictures.

" Didn't you say you found a trail of blood leading away from the scene?"

"Yes," both Sara and Nick responded causing them to look at one another. Catherine raised an eyebrow at the two.

" You both found blood leading away from the scene?"

Nick gave a nod to Sara who turned her attention back to Catherine.

"Not only did I find bloody shoeprints, but I also found several blood drops leading away from the alley. I figured Anthony had simply fought back."

Nick then felt the need to take the reigns away from Sara.

"I think we found the same blood trail, only on opposite ends. Mine began at a car and seemed to be coming from the alley. I also found a bullet entry point in one of the tires of the car. I think that whatever Sergeant Johnson was shooting at, he hit,"

Sara now turned her attention to Nick.

"May help us identify Anthony's killer. Especially if the bullet is still in the body."

Catherine handed the papers back to Sara.

"As helpful as this is for Anthony and telling us what Sergeant Johnson was doing in the area, we still have no idea whether Johnson's shooting was on purpose or accidental."

Greg, Sara, and Nick all looked at each other before frowning.

"There's no way Flynn could have recognized Johnson."

For the second time that shift, the group of four turned to look at Ray who had entered the break room rather quietly.

"Your timing is impeccable," Catherine stated.

"I think it's creepy," Greg said, earning him two slaps from both women of the team.

" I can't prove it to you guys here though. Everyone up for a little field trip?"

About 20 minutes later, the graveyard shift was standing in the parking lot of White House burger.

" Greg, will you go stand where Sergeant Johnson was found?"

"Once again, you people make me do your brunt work."

Catherine pointed to the middle of the parking lot and Greg quickly jogged to his position. Ray then pulled a straw out of his pocket and handed it to Catherine.

"Take a look at Greg through that straw."

Catherine did as she was told and Ray turned to look at Nick and Sara.

" Flynn has hyperplastic formations on the peripheral of his eyes."

Nick had a look of surprise cross his face.

"And the guy was still doing patrols?"

Catherine handed the straw to Sara who also looked through it at Greg.

"For a guy with limited vision, he had a good shot," Catherine said as everyone nodded. Ray then continued.

"He was suffering from retinitis pigmentosis."

Sara passed the straw to Nick before turning to Ray.

"And the lighting would have left Johnson in a silhouette. There's no way that Flynn would have recognized him."

Ray gave Sara a smile and nodded.

" I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to find the bad guy here."

Catherine called Greg back before responding to Ray.

" I'm not sure there is one."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

"Are blueberry pancakes alright?" Nick question as Sara took a seat at his kitchen island.

"Blueberry pancakes sound wonderful Nick."

Nick pulled out the ingredients and began his preparation.

"Hard to believe that Flynn was a good of a cop as he was considering his eye problems."

Sara sighed before peering at Nick.

"You know for someone who sees dead bodies everyday, it was ten times worse watching someone take their own life."

Nick ceased what he was doing to look at Sara. Her face was the portrait of pain and distress, and in that one moment, Nick saw a very vulnerable side of Sara Sidle for the first time. The breakfast ingredients were left forgotten as Nick quickly moved to Sara and wrapped his arms around her. Sara practically melted into Nick's embrace and Nick was just content to just hold her and whisper soothing words into her ears. After a minute or two, Sara looked up into Nick's face. He removed his arms from around her, only for a moment, using his thumbs to wipe the wet spots from her cheeks, only to return them to her waist seconds later.

"I'm sorry I ruined breakfast," Sara said quietly.

Nick gave her a small smile before dropping a feather-light kiss onto her forehead.

"Don't worry about it darlin'. Do you feel better?"

Sara nodded her head slowly before Nick pulled her back to his chest.

"You know Sara, you don't have to do this alone. I'm here for you and I promise I will always be here for you if you ever need to get something off your chest."

Sara felt her heart flutter at Nick's confession.

"It's going to take me awhile to realize that I can trust people besides myself. I've been hurt so many times that you'll just need to be patient with me."

The pair was silent once again for a few minutes before Sara spoke up.

"Nick?"

"Hmm?"

Sara moved out of Nick's embrace in order t properly look at him.

"Can I ask you something?"

Nick nodded his confirmation before Sara asked the question that had been haunting her the entire shift.

"What exactly are we going? Is this a boyfriend/girlfriend thing or a friends with a little extra thing?"

Nick chuckled before moving back into the kitchen to continue his breakfast preparation.

"As much as I love that beautiful mind of yours, there are some questions you don't need to ask."

Sara put her hands on her hips and looked at Nick.

" If I recall correctly, there never was an original question asked that would lead me to believe this was more than a friends thing."

Nick looked back up at the brunette, a confused look across his face.

"What in the world are y…"

Sara raised an eyebrow causing Nick to let out another chuckle as he abandoned the breakfast once again.

"I suppose we did go about this backwards. Let me remedy that."

Nick watched Sara approach the kitchen island, dropping her hands in the process. Once she was positioned in front of hi, Nick asked the question Sara had been dying to hear.

"Will you, Sara Sidle, be my girlfriend?"

Sara smiled before leaning over the island and placing a lingering kiss on Nick's waiting lips. Before Nick could deepen it, Sara moved away, a broad grin accenting her features.

"Of course."

Nick moved to kiss her again when Sara's cell phone let out a beep reminding her of its low battery. Since the moment had been effectively ruined, Nick went back to making breakfast and Sara pulled her phone out of her pocket. The words "new voicemail" reflected off her screen and Sara quickly dialed her inbox. As soon as the voice started talking, Sara felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.

"Sara? It's Gil…"

**Oh man, am I evil! Reviews would be much appreciated! Please and thank you!**

**Xoxo Cait**


	6. Chapter 5: Bloodsport

**I know that this chapter is very delayed and for that I am extremely sorry! It seems like my teachers all decided that they weren't providing us with enough homework at the same time, leading to this chapter being as late as it is.**

**A note to my readers who haven't seen the episodes yet, there really isn't a lab Halloween party in this episode, but I thought it would be fun to add one. Besides, it's my favorite holiday and since Bloodsport premiered so close to the holiday, I figured it would be appropriate. =)**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing, though I suppose I now am the proud owner of a Chemistry major and a Criminal Justice minor. =)**

" A zombie?! How neat!" Sara exclaimed as the graveyard shift sat in the break room listening to Catherine discuss the cases for the night.

"Not a real zombie Sara" Catherine stated causing Sara to fold her arms over her chest.

" I believe the definition of a zombie is someone who has died but for some reason is still up and moving around. To me, that sounds like your dead football coach."

Catherine rolled her eyes causing the rest of the team to grin.

"Does this mean we all get to work the zombie case?" Greg asked with the same level as excitement that Sara had before.

"Could we please stop referring to this as the zombie case? I'm sure there is a logical explanation for why his corpse, while bleeding profusely, managed to get out of his bed, make himself coffee and breakfast before collapsing in his driveway," Catherine stated.

"Yeah," Greg began, "It's called zombieism. Come on Cath! Where's your Halloween spirit?"

"I wasted it all on the lab's Halloween Costume Party. Now, you two zombie enthusiasts," Catherine then gestured to Greg and Sara before continuing, " can go hunt for your own zombie in the car they just found in Lake Mead."

Sara and Greg simply stared at Catherine as she handed the case information to Sara.

"Nick, Ray, and myself will head over to Coach Miller's house. I'll see you all after shift for the party."

Catherine and Ray then left the room. Nick grinned over at Sara and Greg who were sulking at the table before getting out of his chair.

"This is so unfair," Greg mumbled as he sank down further in his seat. Sara pouted at Nick who could only chuckle at the expression on his girlfriend's face.

"I'm sorry you didn't get your zombie case," Nick said as he knelt down in front of Sara to which she responded with a shrug of the shoulders.

"It's okay. Everything happens for a reason right? Besides, you'll keep me updated, won't you?"

Nick nodded before placing a kiss on her pouted lips.

"Promise, now get Greg off his lazy ass and get to your crime scene."

Nick then left the room, leaving Sara with a very depressed looking Greg Sanders. She finally stood up from her chair and offered a hand to Greg.

"Come on Greggo, we've got a crime scene to get to."

Greg let out an exasperated sigh before putting his hand in Sara's and allowing her to pull him out of his chair.

"Maybe ours will wield a zombie of its own," Greg added hopefully as the two exited the room and headed towards the counter where they kept the keys. Sara smiled as she linked arms with her partner for the day.

"Considering all cases have their monsters in their own way, I think it's a safe bet we'll have something."

Greg quickly snatched the keys from the countertop before Sara could even contemplate making a grab for them.

"I'm driving!"

Sara rolled her eyes before exiting the building and climbing into the passenger seat of the department's Denali. After Greg jumped in beside her and started the car, an easy silence fell over the pair.

"So," Greg started, "what are you being for the party?"

Although Sara knew Greg was looking at her, she made the conscious decision not to meet his gaze.

"I'm not sure I'm going," She said. She also didn't need to look to know that Greg's eyes were likely wide and he was likely gaping at her.

"Why not?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders.

"Not really a Halloween person."

"Then what was with all the zombie knowledge in the break room?"

Sara turned her attention to Greg who was currently focused on the traffic in front of him.

"Just because I'm at the lab a lot doesn't mean I don't have outside interests. Strange happenings, such as spontaneous combustion and this idea of the "living dead" are intriguing to me."

The car stopped at a red light and Greg turned to look at his brunette passenger.

"And Nick is cool with you not going?"

"What do you think?"

"I think Nick needs to work on his persuasion skills."

Sara raised an eyebrow at Greg as the light turned green.

"It's not that he hasn't tried. He even took me to a costume shop earlier this week and not so subtly pointed out a few that I should "consider trying on" as he put it."

The car was quiet for a few moments as Greg weaved in and out of the busy traffic before continuing the conversation.

"Were any of them slutty?"

Sara reached a hand out and smacked Greg on the arm closest to her, which caused the man to let out a yelp.

"Hello! Driving a car here! You don't hit the driver! Especially if it was an honest question!"

"That wasn't an honest question Greg. That was a mean one. And for your information, the answer is no. Nick knows me well enough to know I would never wear something like that."

Sara folded her arms over her chest and continued to stare ahead at the passing landscape and cars as they drew closer to Lake Mead.

"Not a single naughty nurse outfit?"

"Greg," Sara growled warningly and Greg quickly put a hand up in defense.

"I promise I'm done. But you really should consider going. It will be fun!"

As they pulled off the main road, Sara decided to turn the tables on Greg.

"So what are you going to the party as?"

Greg smiled before shaking his head at her question.

"Not a chance Sidle."

Sara furrowed her brow at the other occupant in the car.

" You expect to get away with grilling me about a "slutty costume" without telling me what you are going to be? You clearly don't know me at all Greg."

As Greg pulled up next to the police car along the waterfront, Greg turned to look at Sara.

"The only way you're going to find out what my costume is is if you come to the party."

Greg then exited the vehicle followed shortly by Sara. As the two drew closer, they noticed a crane pulling a large car out of the water. Sara wrinkled her nose as the pair approached the officer on the scene.

"What have we got?" Greg asked as the car was placed on the ground. He quickly placed his field kit on the ground before pulling out the camera and taking several pictures of the car.

"A few kids spotted the car last weekend, but we couldn't get a crane out here until this morning."

Sara approached the passenger side of the vehicle and grimaced at the sight in front of her.

"Hey Greg? I think you got your interesting case."

Greg appeared behind her just as Sara opened the car door allowing a small amount of water to escape the car's interior. The smell that wafted out of the vehicle was horrible and caused both Sara and Greg to turn around for a minute, just to get a breath of fresh air before returning back to work.

"By the looks of things, she's been down there for awhile."

Sara nodded as Greg took some more pictures before allowing Sara to move closer to get a better look.

"Stuck in her seatbelt. What a shame."

She spotted what appeared to be a purse on the ground and put her hand in before she found the wallet she was looking for. Fishing the wallet out, she wiped the muck and grime from the picture, relieved to see a woman, presumably the vic, smiling back at her.

"Paige Hammer."

Sara then handed the wallet to Greg for bagging.

"Let's get the whole thing back to the lab. Easier for us to process."

"Great idea. Officer?"

As Greg made the arrangements to get the car back to the lab, Sara couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the poor girl.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

"I wish you guys would have seen Catherine at the crime scene," Nick exclaimed as he walked in between Sara and Greg. "Everyone kept asking her about the zombie thing. She looked like she was about to throw a fit."

Sara and Greg gave each other a knowing look.

" She should have just let us take the case," Greg said to which Sara gave affirmation with a small nod of her head.

"Well, I hate to cut this short but Greg and I have a car to process."

"A very smelly and water-logged car," Greg added.

As the pair turned towards the garage, Nick's voice caused them both to turn back around.

"Don't you two zombie experts want to know how the whole zombie thing works?"

Greg began to nod his head excitedly and Sara just smiled.

"That's easy. The paleocortex, which lies beneath the neocortex, controls instinct and rituals. Your guy must have retained injury only to the neocortex, destroying the controls over thought, language, and reason while leaving the paleocortex completely in tact," Sara rattled off as Greg looked on at her in amazement and Nick simply smiled.

"Am I close?" Sara questioned as she looked at the expression on Nick's face.

"Bulls eye," he replied back which caused Sara to smile even brighter.

" See you later for lunch?"

Sara nodded enthusiastically as Nick left before turning to Greg.

"How on earth did you know all that?"

Sara grinned before giving Greg a shove in the general direction of the garage.

"Forensic journals get boring sometimes," Sara teased as they arrived at their location.

"So you went to your old Biology book instead?"

Sara zipped her coveralls and quickly threw her hair into a ponytail before shrugging her shoulders at Greg.

"I googled it."

Sara then put on her gloves and walked over to the passenger side of the car in order to begin processing.

"Of course, Google! Why didn't I think of that!"

Greg then walked to the driver's side of the vehicle to begin his own processing.

"Passenger window is broken. Hard thing to do."

"Well the driver's side window is all the way down. Probably means our driver escaped since Paige is trapped in the passenger seat."

Sara pulled a piece of glass from Paige's seat with her tweezers and brought it closer in order to thoroughly examine it.

"Tempered auto-glass. Probably from the window."

Greg was scrounging through the silt near the brakes when his hands fell upon something solid. As he began to remove the grime, the object became more defined.

"Sara?"

"Hmm?"

"I've got a .38 revolver."

Sara looked up from her examination of the window.

"Get out."

"I'm serious."

Sara abandoned her work as Greg rushed the gun over to a table in the garage and began to clean the rest of the grime off.

"I'll call Mandy. We need to get those cases out before the gun completely rusts."

Greg nodded as he moved quickly, removing the cases one by one, while Sara radioed to Mandy who came to their aid quickly.

"Most excitement I've had al day," Mandy stated as she examined the gun and it's casings.

"I'll do my best and see if I can get any prints off any of these then get the gun back to the both of you so you can run ballistics."

Sara thanked her as she wheeled the gun and cases back to her own corner of the lab before turning to Greg.

"That was a nice find Greg."

Greg gave a small smile before shrugging at his partner.

"I try. I really do."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Nick was headed back from the DNA lab when he stumbled upon his supervisor, his girlfriend, and her current case partner having an open discussion.

"You're telling me that Paige shot the revolved under water, shattered a window, and managed to kill that guy?" Catherine questioned as both Sara and Greg nodded.

"The ballistics match Catherine," Greg responded.

"Not only do they match, but the bullet that killed this guy had tempered auto-glass on it. Bobby wasn't able to explain it six months ago, but Greg and I can now!" Sara exclaimed as Nick entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think I figured out what the murder weapon was that killed Coach Miller."

Nick presented a picture of the "Coach of the Year" trophy to Catherine.

"Doc said the murder weapon was flat with sharp edges. The pieces all fit."

Catherine placed her glasses on to examine Nick's evidence.

"And the whole fact that it's missing doesn't hurt your theory either," Catherine concluded before taking the glasses off and handing the picture back to Nick.

"Can we get back to our bullet?" Sara asked impatiently. Catherine opened her mouth to answer when Ray entered the room carrying more papers.

"Hodges I. out shoes. Jupiter Galaxy Ones, size 12."

Greg and Sara watched as Ray presented his own evidence to Catherine, who dutifully examined it.

" And how many players wear these shoes?"

"Well, all of them. Jupiter supplied shoes for the entire team. However, only one current player wears a size 12. The star running back, Calvin Crook," Ray answered.

"Only one player? Now that's convenient. Let's go have a chat with him," Catherine stated as she got out of her chair and headed towards the door before Sara and Greg's voicing of her name caused her to turn around.

"Hello! Bullet?"

"You guys need to prove it. Your theory is all very up in the air right now."

"So," Sara began, " if we can prove that a gun can be shot underwater, through a window, and kill a person, you'll believe that Paige Hammer killed this Andrew Jimenez character?"

Catherine nodded her head and Ray raised an eyebrow.

"Did you say Andrew Jimenez?"

Greg checked the file they had presented to Catherine before nodding his head. Catherine then peered over at Ray.

"Why?"

"When I was with Hodges in the AV lab…"

A confused look crossed Nick's face.

"What the heck was Hodges doing in the AV lab?"

Ray shrugged his shoulders at the Texan.

"Archie's at a convention out of town. Anyways, Hodges pulled up some e-mails between Coach M and Calvin. One of them was a link to an article about Andrew Jimenez's death."

That caught the room off guard. Sara and Greg looked at each other while Nick, Catherine, and Ray's eyes were all on one another.

"Okay," Catherine said, "Let's assume these cases are connected in some way for the time being. Nick, you go with Sara and Greg. Catch them up on our case and vice versa. Ray and I will go have a chat with Calvin. We'll then reconvene when we get back."

Catherine and Ray left the room, while Sara and Greg turned to look at Nick.

"Ready to get your hands dirty?" Sara asked as Greg rolled his eyes. Nick chuckled before escorting Sara out of the room, while Greg trudged behind them.

"You know, you guys whole "couple thing"? Not so cute all the time."

Nick looked at Sara before both looked at Greg before each wrapping an arm around his shoulders and dragging him between them.

"Relax G, we've still got your back," Nick said to which Sara gave a smile and nodded. Greg smiled back before proceeding to wrap his arms around Nick and Sara as the trio continued on their way to the ballistics room.

"So, what's going on with your case?" Nick asked as Greg and Sara disentangled their arms in order to prepare things for their experiment.

"Paige Hammer, 19, found submerged in a car with one window smashed and the other rolled down," Sara answered as she handed the mold for the ballistics dummy to Greg before he began to work with the gel.

"We found a .38 revolver in the vehicle. Five rounds, one shot fired. Mandy managed to pull a print, but she's still running it through the system," Greg added.

"And how did Paige die? GSW?" Nick questioned to which Sara shook her head.

"She downed. The thing that throws us off, is she was trapped in the passenger seat by her seatbelt."

"Mystery driver got away," Nick concluded.

"We originally thought Andrew may have been driving the car," Greg stated as Doc Robbins appeared in the doorway. " However, we couldn't find any evidence to suggest he was even in the car."

"I was on my way to the break room when Wendy stopped me in the hallway and handed me this."

Doc Robbins then handed a file to Sara.

"It's the hair we found in Paige's teeth."

Sara was about to open the file when Doc spoke again.

"And just so we're clear, I'm no messenger boy. This never happened."

Sara smiled as she opened the file, while Doc left just as quietly as he had come in. She scanned the results and caught a name that seemed oddly familiar.

"Hey Nick?"

Nick turned his attention to Sara.

"Yep."

"What was the name of the guy Catherine and Ray were going to talk to?"

Nick put his hand out for the paper in Sara's hand before answering Sara.

"Calving Crook, the Mustang's star running back."

Sara watched as Nick scanned the evidence while Greg turned to look at the pair.

"If those results are correct," Sara stated," then Calvin was with Paige the night she died."

Nick handed the results to Greg before looking up and catching Sara's gaze.

"We may have just found our link."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

"I'm beginning to really dislike this kid," Greg mumbled as the team sat around the break room table.

"He has an answer for everything," Sara added as she placed her head in her hands.

"I think we should steer away from Calvin for awhile," Catherine stated as her eyes rested on the rest of her team. " Do we have anything else to connect these cases together besides Calvin?"

"Well," Greg began, "the car we found Paige in was registered to a Pal Arnold, as well as the gun we found in the driver's seat."

"And our buddy Pal Arnold is president of the Mustang's football booster club. Plus, we know from Calvin that Paige was at Pal's party that night," Nick summarized before looking at Ray who had remained silent throughout the entire meeting. The doctor looked deep in thought.

"Ray? You okay over there?" Nick probed causing the rest of the team's gazes to shift over to him. Ray straightened in his chair.

"We can speculate all we want, but without a murder weapon, all it ever will be is speculation."

"Ray's right," Sara concluded. " We know that Paige's death and Andrew's death were accidents. We can assume that Pal was the driver of the car Paige was found in, but was too much of a chicken to save her himself."

This caused Ray to nod.

"We technically can't confirm Pal's role as the driver until Brass gets him out of interrogation," Sara added causing Ray to get out of his chair and head towards the door.

" I think I have an idea as to the location of the murder weapon, but I'm going to need a few volunteers."

Nick stood up from the table.

"I'd be happy to help Ray."

Ray then looked over at Greg who found himself very interested with the coffee machine in the corner. Nick looked down at Greg before using an arm to forcefully pull the small man out of his seat.

"Greg would love to help as well."

Greg then glared at Nick, who simply gave him a nudge towards the door.

"Wendy's been dying to get into the field lately. You should see if she wants to join. Plus, if Wendy goes, I bet you could convince Hodges as well," Catherine mentioned to her male team members.

"Can't we just leave Hodges here?" Greg pleaded.

Nick rolled his eyes and Ray turned his attention to his supervisor.

"We'll pick them up on the way."

Ray then left the room followed by a moping Greg. Nick turned to look at Sara.

"There's a little something in your locker you may want to check out."

Sara looked at Nick with confusion as he slowly exited the room to catch up with the rest of the guys. Catherine turned to look at Sara whose look had turned from confusion to one of anger.

"What was that about?" the blonde asked.

"He got me a Halloween costume for the party tonight," Sara said, her tone remaining flat.

"You got that all from "something in your locker"? I figured he was going for something a little more romantic."

The two women sat at the table for a few moments, enveloped by the silence.

"Are you going to check it out?" Catherine asked to which Sara immediately shook her head.

'That would be giving in to what he wants. I am perfectly capable of finding my own costume."

"You're not even the smallest bit curious as to what he picked out?"

Sara turned her attention to Catherine who seemed to be brimming with curiosity and excitement.

"Fine, let's go take a look," Sara answered with a sigh as the two women got out of their chairs and headed towards the locker room. Upon reaching Sara's locker, Sara quickly undid the combination and swung the door open to reveal a paper bag with Sara's name written in Nick's elegant script. Catherine reached for the bag and held it in her arms while Sara just stared at it.

"Well, are you going to open it?"

Sara looked up at Catherine who was looking at her expectantly. Sara reached for the flap.

"You know, it's probably something slutty or completely hideous," Sara stated as she opened the bag up. "It's probably just a big joke that Greg convinced Ni…"

Sara stopped her tirade as she looked at the costume lying inside the bag.

"Oh," Sara managed to get out.

"Wow," Catherine muttered. "This is gorgeous Sara."

Sara closed the bag and looked at Catherine.

"I can't wear that."

Catherine held the bag out to Sara who wasn't about to take it from her.

"Of course you can Sara! This costume is beautiful!"

Sara shook her head repeatedly.

"I cannot pull something like that off."

Catherine placed the bag on the locker room bench, making sure it was right in front of Sara before leaving the room. Sara looked over at the bag and sighed. Catherine had left the bag there to taunt her. The costume was beautiful and it was obvious that Nick had put a lot of thought into picking a costume specifically for her.

The locker room door opened and Sara looked up to see Catherine smiling at her.

"Do you want help getting ready before the party?"

Sara looked from the bag to Catherine as she considered the blonde's offer. She then slowly nodded her head, which caused Catherine's smile to increase.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

The men and Wendy had managed to find the murder weapon with Calvin's bloody print and bloody shoes within an hour of having left giving the shift members plenty of time to freshen up before the lab party. Catherine had been the first one to arrive, clad in a traditional black witch's hat and matching dress that went to her knees. She had even made the effort to get a pair of striped stockings and sleek black boots to complete the outfit.

As she lay out the punch bowl and snacks on the decorated break room table, she heard someone clear their throat behind her and was met by Ray who was dressed in blue scrubs, a white coat, and a stethoscope.

"The point of Halloween is to dress up as something you're not," Catherine pointed out as the doctor chuckled.

"I haven't worn these in ages and I figured what better opportunity than the party?"

Catherine shook her head, which caused Ray to laugh again.

"To be or not to be, that is the question."

Both Ray and Catherine turned around to see Greg with a gray wig, a gray beard, and older clothes on including a very outdated button sweater.

"If you are supposed to be Hamlet, that is a terrible costume," Catherine announced.

"Even worse if you're trying to be William Shakespeare," Ray added as an afterthought. Greg frowned at his co-workers.

"You really don't know who I am?"

"Oh we know who you are Greg, though, I think you may be a little confused," Hodges stated, who had entered the room dressed as Zorro.

"Shut up Hodges, I'm serious."

Catherine took in Greg's appearance, completely at a loss as to what the young man was supposed to be. Wendy, dressed as Cat Woman, and Mandy, in complete flapper garb, were the next to enter the room and Catherine was quick to stop them.

"Do you guys have any idea as to who Greg is supposed to be?"

Both women looked at Greg who grinned broadly in their direction.

"I got nothing," Mandy concluded before walking over to the snacks. Wendy, however, was staring hard at Greg before her eyes lit up.

" Oh I got it!" Wendy exclaimed. " You're supposed to be Grissom, aren't you?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!"

Wendy smiled, proud of her deduction skills while Catherine looked at Greg unconvinced.

"How on earth is that supposed to be Grissom?" she asked.

"Well, Miss Willow, I have this nifty nametag," Greg said before displaying a CSI chain that lay around his neck with a "Hi my name is…Gilbert Grissom" sticker attached to the front. " I also have this." Greg then reached into the pocket of his sweater and pulled out a stuffed spider with a red leash around its abdomen.

"You've got to be kidding me," Catherine stated as a smile began to form on Ray's face.

" I give you credit Sanders. That's very creative," Ray said to which Catherine simply rolled her eyes.

"I think you look ridiculous."

"Catherine?"

The blonde turned her attention to the secretary who now stood in the doorframe.

"You have a call on line one."

As the secretary turned to leave, she nearly collided with Nick who was dressed in khaki pants and a white button up shirt. A thick pair of glasses adorned his face.

" Have you guys seen Sara?"

While Catherine gazed around the room for the brunette CSI, she heard Greg and Nick arguing about Nick's costume.

"You can't come as something you already are."

"I didn't Greg."

"I thought by now you would know you are a geek."

Before Nick could retort back, Catherine jumped back into the conversation.

"He's supposed to be Clark Kent."

Greg raised an eyebrow at Catherine.

"You got Clark Kent out of that, but you couldn't get Gil Grissom out of this?" Greg asked gesturing to his own costume.

"You're supposed to be Grissom?" Nick asked to which Greg just glared.

"I don't have time for your bickering. You can see the "S" on Nick's blue undershirt. I have to go get a call in my office and then I'll go look for Sara. Good?"

Both boys nodded and Catherine quickly strode past them and into her office. She then picked up the received and pressed a button on the phone.

"Hello?"

"Catherine?"

Catherine frowned at the phone.

"Gil Grissom? I haven't heard from you in ages! How are you?"

She heard a distinct sigh from the other end.

"I've been better, I'm worried about Sara."

"Gil Grissom worried? Do I detect something personal from someone who is terrible with people?" Catherine teased knowing full well just how awful Grissom was with people and personal things.

"I deserve that. Have you heard from her lately? She's not returning any of my phone calls."

Catherine contemplated telling Gil everything, but decided that her newly found friendship with the brunette was worth more. When Sara was ready to tell Grissom where he was, she would.

"No, I haven't heard from her Gil, but I promise if I do, you will be the first to know."

"Thanks Catherine," Gil answered, his voice laced with concern. " I would really appreciate it."

Catherine then uttered a quick goodbye before hanging up the phone. She then wandered into the women's bathroom and knocking on the closed stall door at the end of the room.

"Sara, can you please come out? We need to talk."

"I can't come out Catherine," Sara's muffled reply was heard from beyond the door.

"I'm sure you look amazing," Catherine answered. A scoff came from behind the closed door.

"I'm serious Cath. I knew this was a bad idea."

Catherine decided to take Sara's lead.

"You want to know what's serious? Gil Grissom calling my phone with actual concern in his voice, for you."

The stall door unlocked and Catherine stepped back to allow Sara room to come out. When she did, Catherine put a hand to her mouth.

Although the lighting in the bathroom was terrible, Sara was practically glowing in the snow-white goddess dress that went to the middle of her feet where a pair of golden sandals peeked out. Two pieces of white fabric hung on either side of the straps of the dress that fell over her arms, slowly changing from white to blue and increasing in width as it traveled towards her fingers. Her brown hair was curled and piled into a bun on her head. A golden leaf headband added to her ethereal look. Her bangs were swept to one side and her eyes had been accented with a blue eye shadow that matched the blue in her dress while sprinkles of glitter were peppered all over her face.

"Gil called you?" she asked hesitantly.

Catherine was at a loss of words. She had helped Sara with her hair as well as her makeup. She had even suggested the glitter and she had to admit that the results were amazing. Apparently, Sara took Catherine's silence to be a bad thing.

"You don't have to say anything Catherine. I know it's just awful."

Catherine put a hand on each of Sara's shoulders and turning her towards the bathroom mirror.

"You must be looking in a funhouse mirror because you look much better than terrible. You look stunning Sara."

Sara looked at the reflection in the mirror and almost didn't recognize the face that stared back at her.

"Whoa."

"Whoa is right. Just wait until the boys catch sight of you."

Catherine gave her friend's shoulders a squeeze while Sara blushed as she thought about how Nick would react to the costume he had picked out for her. She then remembered what the blonde had said to get her to come out of the bathroom.

"What did Gil say to you?"

Sara's question snapped Catherine back to reality.

"He wanted to know if I had heard from you. He seemed really upset Sara."

Catherine thought she saw Sara's composure falter a little, but it was only for a flicker of a moment.

"You didn't tell him I was here, did you?"

Catherine shook her head.

"It wasn't my place to say anything. You'll tell him when you're ready."

Sara turned to look at her supervisor. It was no secret to anyone that the women had never been close.

"Thanks Catherine for everything you've done for me since I've been here."

Catherine gave the younger woman a smile before squeezing her shoulders.

"The same goes for you. I am so glad it was you that Ecklie sent to me. You have no idea."

At that moment in time, an understanding passed between the two women of graveyard shift. They now began to see each other in an entirely new light and it provided them with the beginnings of what promised to be a good friendship.

As Catherine and Sara walked back to the break room, Grissom's phone call became a distant memory. They didn't think about it when the entire party grew silent at their arrival, and Sara definitely wasn't thinking about it when Nick pulled her into his arms and placed a lingering kiss on her lips much to the enjoyment of the rest of the party's occupants. In the happiness of the moment, no one even thought of the fact that Grissom had been a trained CSI and knew how to follow the evidence.

And that evidence, would lead him straight back to Sin City.

**So that last bit sounds a little stalkerish, but I promise that is so not where this is going! The Grissom problem will disappear for a bit in these next few chapters, but when it does resurface, I will be prepared with shields to protect myself.**

**Reviews would be awesome. =)**

**Xoxo, Cait**


	7. Chapter 6: Death and the Maiden

**Having writer's block is horrid, and I apologize for my brain's lack of cooperation. Especially after I provided it with all of that inspiration with several Nick and Sara videos!**

**This chapter is for sarasidle3 and Tina-NSfan =)**

**I still own nothing. Although I do own the epic fail of a dream I had last night. All I'm going to say is, " People do crazy things…when they're in love". =D**

As the paramedic wheeled the teenager away, the eyes of Catherine, Nick, and Sara began to survey the damage that had befallen the alleyway. Blood was strewn along one of the walls, bloody handprints dotting several of the bricks. Nick paused the paramedic for a moment to get a better look at their victim.

"A few cuts and lacerations. The boy should be fine," one of the paramedics provided.

"Mind if I catch a ride with you guys to the hospital?" Nick questioned. "The evidence on his body is time sensitive. The quicker we get it, the better chance we have of catching whoever did this to him."

The paramedic nodded before continuing to wheel the boy towards the open doors of the ambulance. Nick then turned to face his female co-workers.

"I'll catch up with you ladies in an hour or so."

Sara and Catherine gave Nick a nod before turning back to the scene in front of them.

"I'll start documenting," Catherine stated before nodding her head in the direction of Jim Brass who was currently interviewing a rather scantily clad woman. "Why don't you get Brass to catch us up on our victim?"

Sara immediately picked up her kit and headed towards the homicide captain as Catherine pulled out her camera to begin the overall shots of the scene. Sara came to a halt next to Brass and listened as the woman claimed to have lost a cat in the alleyway.

"Oh?" Brass began, " And what is your cat's name?"

"Pussy cat."

Sara couldn't help but let out a small snort, which caused Brass to produce a small smile in response.

"You know, the truth tends to work a whole lot better in cases like these, " Sara commented causing the woman to roll her eyes.

"I was out here with my boyfriend, alright?"

Sara peered at Brass who was surveying the scene around him.

" And where did this boyfriend of yours go?" Brass inquired.

"He ran off," the woman concluded. "The big chicken."

Brass reviewed his note for a few moments before the woman cleared her throat.

"Can I go now?"

Sara nodded and watched as the woman left the scene in a huff.

"She seemed pleasant," Sara declared eliciting a chuckle from Brass. " What have you got for us?"

Brass handed his notes over to the younger woman who quickly scanned them.

"Victim's name is Tommy Baker. Clearly assaulted, but by who is the current mystery."

Sara handed the notes back to Brass before offering her own thoughts.

"Not much to go on. It's a good thing that the scene is practically overflowing with details. By the looks of things, I'd say Tommy is lucky to be alive, " Sara uttered as she turned her attention back to the bloody alleyway.

"Just remember Sidle," Brass began, "this is Vegas. This alley is known for being a prostitute's alleyway. Make sure you are able to determine what is actually relevant to this case, and what is simply cluttering the scene."

Sara raised an eyebrow at Brass.

"Don't I always?"

Brass laid a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"A little reminder now and then never hurt anyone," Brass said before giving Sara's shoulder a pat and wandering off. Sara watched him leave before shrugging her shoulders and heading back over to Catherine.

"Brass wasn't able to give us much other than our victim's name. Tommy Baker," Sara exclaimed as she opened her own field kit and began to swab a puddle of blood that Catherine had already marked and photographed.

"Did Brass have any idea what happened to him?" Catherine asked as she began to place markers on the wall.

"Assaulted," Sara recounted. "Brass's lady friend was no help either. She was the one who placed the phone call."

"Figures as much," Catherine muttered.

Sara moved back to her field kit to grab another swab, when she noticed something shiny glint in the little bit of light that illuminated the alleyway.

"You finished your overall shots, right?" Sara questioned as she moved closer to the object.

"Of course I did. Why?"

Sara picked the small object up and displayed it to Catherine.

"St. Christopher medal," Sara provided.

Catherine turned to look at the small silver medal that was splattered with blood.

"Patron saint of travel," Catherine clarified before taking the small medal from Sara's outstretched hand. "Eddie used to have one of these things in his car."

Catherine then handed the medal back to Sara, who proceeded to place it in a bag and label it. As Catherine looked up, she spotted the unmistakable outline of Nick Stokes approaching them.

"That was fast," Catherine exclaimed which caused Nick to scoff.

"He flipped out when I got in the room. Broke the camera."

Sara finished her label before looking up at Nick.

"Poor kid is probably traumatized. I'm sure the last thing he wants to deal with is someone poking and prodding his body for evidence," Sara explained.

"Whether he wants us to or not, we need the evidence," Catherine stated as she stood up and began to swab a bloody handprint on the wall. " The more we have, the easier this case will be for all of us, including Tommy."

Sara moved to another puddle on the ground and took another swab.

"Looks like semen," Sara interpreted before capping it.

"Could be Tommy's, or another visitor to the alleyway," Nick concluded, as he joined the two female CSIs in their evidence collection.

" Do you want to call it Sara?" Catherine asked.

Sara put the swab with the rest of the evidence, before considering everything in front of her.

" Tommy's looking for a little fun and decides a trip to a prostitute alleyway is just what the doctor ordered. He finishes the deed with our prostitute friend, but what he doesn't know is her boyfriend witnessed the event. Boyfriend gets mad and proceeds to kick the crap out of our victim. He then takes off, leaving his girlfriend to call it in," Sara proposed before looking at Nick.

"Definitely possible, "Nick adds to which Catherine nods.

"We won't know anything until we get back to the lab," Catherine concluded, before finishing her swabs from the wall. She then turned her attention to her co-workers. Nick was the first to stand up before offering a hand to Sara and helping her up.

"No time to waste," Catherine stated as she closed up her field kit. " Let's get this evidence to Hodges and Wendy."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

After dropping Sara off at the lab, Nick and Catherine headed over to the hospital, only to be told that Tommy had checked himself out, against doctor's orders. Placing a swift call to Brass, they immediately headed over to the address that was registered to Tommy Baker. Catherine knocked sharply three times on the small door before turning to Nick.

"How are things going with Sara?" Catherine inquired as they waited for the door to be opened.

"Really well," Nick stated, turning his body so he could get a better look at Catherine. "We were friends before, and we're friends now with the addition of a few more benefits."

"Care to elaborate?" Catherine asked hopefully causing Nick to chuckle.

"Not really."

Catherine folded her arms over her chest before muttering, " So much for living vicariously through you and Sara."

The door swung open to reveal an older woman wearing a tank top that was two sizes too small and a skirt that could have passed for underwear.

"Well hello there handsome," the woman said, stumbling a bit against the doorframe as her eyes focused on Nick. Catherine let out a small smirk.

"Mrs. Baker? We're from the LVPD. We've come here to pick up a few things of Tommy's," Catherine stated as the woman blinked several times at the pair before a goofy smile spread across her face.

" Police? Oh how nice! Would you two nice officers like a drink?"

The woman then waddled her way back into the house as Nick and Catherine gave each other a confused look before both turned their attention to their watches.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking, Mrs. Baker?" Nick asked as he and Catherine slowly walked into the cramped house. The heard a grunt from Mrs. Baker before she made her way back to the CSIs holding a large bottle of liquor.

"S'never too early to drink."

She then placed the bottle to her lips and took a large swig. She then presented the bottle to Nick.

"Want any?"

Nick shook his head vigorously.

"Mrs. Baker," Catherine intercepted, " if you don't mind, your son was assaulted last night. We would like to see his clothes."

The mother looked at Nick thoughtfully.

"Did he kick some ass?"

Catherine shook her head before looking down the hallway.

"Is Tommy's room down here?" she questioned to which Mrs. Baker nodded.

"First door on the right."

Catherine nodded and began to head down the hall, Nick close on her heels, when Mrs. Baker's high-pitched voice interrupted them.

"Can he stay with me?" she asked, gesturing with her empty hand towards Nick.

Catherine looked from the drunken Mrs. Baker to the terrified-looking Nick Stokes.

"Nick would love to keep you company," she declared cheerfully before retreating down the hallway. Nick turned to look at Mrs. Baker and almost jumped a foot in the air when he realized the woman was now standing inches away from him.

"Now we can have some fun, at least now that the stuffy blonde is gone."

She moved her shaking hands towards Nick's face, only to be disappointed when Nick took his own hands and brought hers back to her sides.

"Something tells me my girlfriend wouldn't like that."

Mrs. Baker pouted.

"It's because she wears shorter clothes than me, isn't it?"

Nick shook his head.

"No, I'm quite sure you win that category."

Mrs. Baker now looked like she was about to start bawling.

"Well then what the hell is wrong with me?"

Nick sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with you Mrs. Baker. Any man would be lucky to have you."

Mrs. Baker then poked an accusing finger into Nick's chest."

"Any man, but you!"

She then collapsed against Nick's chest, sobbing uncontrollably, her drunken state finally catching up with her fully. Nick awkwardly patted the woman's back. It was at this moment that Catherine emerged from the back room holding a paper bag.

"Found Tommy's bloody clothes from last ni…"

Catherine stopped mid-sentence and looked at Nick, a teasing expression dancing across her face, topped off by a raise of the eyebrow and a smirk.

"If only Sara could see you now."

Nick rolled his eyes just as the front door opened, causing both Catherine and Nick to look at the tall man who walked through the door, spitting image of Tommy.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" the man sputtered before running and pulling his mother away from Nick and slowly guiding the disoriented woman outside, who was uttering curse words the entire way out. Nick grimaced before turning to look at his supervisor.

"There's no way you're not going to tell Sara about this, is there?"

"Not a chance in hell, Stokes," Catherine said, the smirk still in plain view. Nick shook his head.

"Didn't think so."

The man then re-entered the house.

"I'm sorry about that. She's not even supposed to be here."

Nick then raised a hand towards the man.

"Nick Stokes, LVPD. This is my partner, Catherine Willows."

The man quickly rubbed his hands on his pants before shaking Nick's hand followed by Catherine's.

"Mark. Mark Baker. I'm Tommy's older brother."

After giving him a firm shake, Nick withdrew his hand as Mark crossed his arms over his chest.

"How's the investigation coming?"

Catherine displayed the paper bag to Mark.

"Once we analyze the trace on your brother's clothes, we'll be several steps closer to whoever did this to him."

Mark nodded his head, seemingly comforted by Catherine's words.

"I hope so."

Nick then took the silence that followed as their cue to leave.

"I promise you Mr. Baker. We'll do everything in our power to get whoever did this to your brother," Nick stated as an afterthought, knowing words would never make up for what the family was experiencing.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

"Wendy, are you sure?" Sara asked the young lab tech, who simply nodded her head.

"All of the blood at the scene was a match to the same source, which I'm assuming is your victim," Wendy repeated, while Sara's eyes continued to scan the report in front of her.

"I'd say that is a pretty good assumption considering how beat up the victim was," Sara added.

"The semen sample you took from the scene was a combination of blood and semen," Wendy continued.

Sara looked up at Wendy skeptical.

"It could have been from an entirely different incident."

Wendy then shook her head, causing Sara to lean back in her chair.

"The blood was a match to the rest of the blood at the scene, but the semen was not. Had to have come from an unknown male source."

Sara stared at the paper in front of her.

" He was raped. That son of a bitch raped him."

Sara stood from her chair and headed towards the door, only to be stopped by a flustered Wendy.

"There's more," Wendy said, allowing Sara time to bring her racing heart under control.

"At first, I thought I might have cross-contaminated yours and Greg's evidence. I even triple-checked my work."

Wendy stopped for a moment to make sure Sara hadn't gotten more frustrated. She appeared to be listening intently, which encouraged Wendy to continue.

"You know how I work. I'm always very careful, one case open at a time. If my calculations are correct, I know who raped Tommy Baker."

Wendy handed Sara another piece of paper, which Sara practically snatched from Wendy's hand.

"Wayne Smith. Greg's DB?" Sara asked only to receive confirmation with a nod of Wendy's head. Sara took a deep breath before handing the paper back to Wendy.

"Show this to Greg. I'm going to the hospital. I'm sure they did blood work on Tommy when he came in. It will get you a comparison for the blood at the scene."

Wendy gave a mini salute before heading out the door. As soon as Wendy had exited, Nick and Catherine entered the room.

"Where are we at?" Catherine questioned.

"Wendy ran the blood from the scene, all a match to one source."

"Tommy Baker," Nick finished, but Sara held out a hand.

"I'm heading to the hospital now to get a sample of Tommy's blood for Wendy to compare it against," Sara stated as she headed towards the lobby, followed shortly after by Nick and Catherine.

"I'll come with you," Nick volunteered.

"Anything else?" Catherine pressed.

"Wendy was able to relate our case to Greg and Ray's. Apparently the semen I took from the crime scene was a mixture of blood and semen. The blood was a match to the rest of the blood found at the scene. The semen, however, was a match to Wayne Smith, Greg and Ray's DB. Apparently, Smith not only assaulted our victim, but also raped him."

Nick and Catherine stopped in their tracks.

"Tommy was raped?" Catherine inquired.

"If Wendy's calculations are correct, than yes."

Catherine turned to look at Nick.

"We can put you on old cases if you'd like. You don't have to stay with this investigation," Catherine whispered.

Nick turned to look at Catherine.

"I want to do this Catherine."

Nick's comment caused Sara to stop and look at Nick and Catherine. She watched Catherine give a small nod to Nick before looking at Sara.

"Let Nick go get the blood for Wendy. You and I need to go get caught up with Ray and Greg on their case."

Sara gave a confused look to Nick as he walked past her to the parking lot. Sara headed back toward Catherine, curious about the recent exchange between her boyfriend and friend.

"What was that about?" Sara questioned as she and Catherine began to look for the other two members of graveyard shift.

"I'm sorry Sara, but I'm not at liberty to say. If you want to know, you'll have to ask Nick."

Sara watched as Catherine entered the processing room where Greg and Ray were mulling over their own evidence. She didn't know what Nick was hiding, but she had enough sense to know whatever it was, it had affected Nick a great deal.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Greg and Ray stood on one side of the large table while Catherine and Sara stood on the other.

"So, if Wayne assaulted Tommy before he was killed, it's possible that Tommy, or someone close to Tommy could have killed him, like his brother," Catherine observed as she looked at the various pieces of evidence that were organized on the table.

"His girlfriend actually," Ray said as he slid a written confession paper towards Catherine.

"You solved the case already?" Sara asked before Catherine handed the paper over to her.

"We found her fingerprints by a window in the back, which we believe to be the point of entry," Greg concluded as he looked at the two women across from him.

"Claims she killed him because he had too many rules and would often hit her when he was angry," Sara read off the page before handing the paper back to Greg.

"It's a good enough reason as any," Catherine responded to which Sara simply nodded. "Good work guys."

Just as the group of four was about to leave the room, Brass came in grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Great news guys, we brought Tommy in and he confessed to killing Wayne Smith."

Four pairs of eyes grew wide.

"He confessed?" Greg repeated, still not believing it even after the words came out of his mouth. Brass gave a concerned look at Greg.

"Don't look so shocked Sanders. We like when the bad guys cooperate."

The four CSIs now turned their attention on each other, confusing Brass even more.

"I just told you guys that our killer confessed. Why do you all look like I punched you in the stomach rather than handed you a present?"

Before anyone could say anything, Nick came into the room.

"Brass," he began, "Tommy's brother Mark just confessed to killing Wayne Smith."

Brass now looked at Nick with the same look that had remained plastered on Ray, Sara, Greg, and Catherine's faces.

"He confessed too?" Greg asked, causing Nick's face to become one of puzzlement.

"What do you mean "too"? You've had more than one confession?" Nick inquired to which Brass nodded.

"Try three," Sara replied causing both Nick and Brass to turn their attention to her.

"Wayne's sister, Jess Smith, who was also Tommy's girlfriend, confessed a few hours ago," Greg stated causing more than one person to let out a sigh. Catherine was the first one to speak.

"Greg, why don't you go talk to Jess again. See if there's anything she's not telling us. Ray, check into Mark's story. It's possible that he, like Jess, may just be trying to protect the one he loves. Nick, Tommy is all yours. Let him know it's okay to talk about this. The more he gets out, the better he'll feel."

The men of graveyard shift left the room and Catherine turned to Sara.

"Find out where Wendy, Hodges, and Archie are with the rest of the evidence. Have them run everything twice if you to until we can weed out those who are lying to us."

Sara gave a swift nod and exited, leaving Catherine to look at Brass. Catherine opened her mouth, but Brass beat her to the punch.

"I'll dig deeper and see if there is anything we may have overlooked."

Catherine gave him a small smile, before walking out of the room to her office. She nearly collided with Nick on her way out.

"Nicky, I thought you were interrogating Tommy."

Nick pointed towards the reception area.

"I apparently have a visitor."

Catherine let out an "Oh", before continuing towards her office, allowing Nick to continue towards the reception area. He frowned when he saw who was waiting for him.

"Ms. Martin, I wasn't expecting you here."

The Victim Service worker turned around at his voice.

"You did give Tommy my card. It's not against the law for him to call me."

Nick frowned at April Martin.

"He confessed to the murder of his attacker."

"That's why I'm here," April began. "In all of my years working in Victim Services I have learned that the likelihood of a rape victim confronting his attacker is slim to none."

Nick crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's wonderful and all, but my job is to follow the evidence," Nick proclaimed.

Sara emerged from Hodges lab and noticed Nick out of the corner of her eye talking to a petite woman in the reception area. She stopped for a moment to regard the situation. She watched Nick make a comment before slowly backing away, the woman smirking at his retreating form. Recognizing that Nick was about to turn around, Sara quickly moved down the hall in search of Greg or Ray. Before she could make it very far, Nick called out to her causing Sara to turn around.

"New evidence?" Nick questioned before approaching his girlfriend. She nodded her head before handing the envelope over to Nick.

"Archie pulled a video of Tommy in Wayne's store, seemingly robbing it. The video was minutes before Tommy was assaulted. Not only did Archie find something, but Wendy did as well. She was able to pull DNA off a matchbook from the store. She was able to match the DNA to Mark Baker."

Nick considered the envelope thoughtfully.

"So far, none of this is discounting any of our confessions," Nick concluded before handing the envelope back to Sara. "Anything else?"

Sara considered Nick's face for a moment. He looked tired, but also extremely determined. It wasn't hard for her to see that he was emotionally connected with the case, but she wasn't sure where the connection came into play.

"Hodges analyzed something Greg found in the cash register. Apparently it's part of an acrylic fingernail. I was just on my way to bring it to Greg. See if it meant anything to him," Sara exclaimed.

Nick nodded his head and Sara placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Is everything alright?" she asked softly.

Nick placed a warm hand over hers.

"I'll be fine once this case is over."

He sounded sincere, aiding Sara in the fact that there was in fact something that he was not telling her. He leaned in and gently brushed his lips over her cheek before heading back towards his interrogation room. Sara watched him leave, the wheels in her mind spinning rapidly. A thought occurred to her, causing Sara Sidle to place a hand over her mouth as she watched the retreating form of her boyfriend.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Moments after Sara had presented the fingernail to Greg, he had taken off, saying he knew who had done it. He returned an hour later, a triumphant grin accenting his boyish features and a cuffed woman behind him.

"I found this in Angela's purse," Greg exclaimed as he held up a crisp twenty-dollar bill for the rest of the team. "Serial number on the bill matches the serial number written on the bottom of the cash register at Smith's store."

The team was quick to offer their congratulations to Greg before the tired team members took to the locker room to grab their things and head home. Nick had exited quickly, saying he wanted to talk to Tommy before he left. Sara was the next to exit, walking past Jess Smith sitting on the chairs towards the exit.

Footsteps were heard behind her, so she stopped her advance and turned to discover that Nick and Tommy Baker had entered the hallway. Nick gave Tommy a small pat on the back before giving a small nod towards Jess. The teenage girl looked up from the floor, a smile lighting up her face when she took in Tommy's presence in front of her.

Sara watched as Jess ran to Tommy, her arms immediately thrown around his neck. She watched as Tommy slowly removed Jess's arms before retreating slowly back down the hallway, in Sara's direction, despite Jess's tearful cries for him to come back.

As soon as Tommy had passed her, Sara looked up and met Nick's eyes from across the hall. Nick's expression said it all, and as Sara held out her hand, Nick quickly crossed the hall and engulfed her smaller hand with his own larger one. The two walked in silence for a moment before Sara decided to speak.

"When did it happen?"

If Nick was surprised by Sara's question, he certainly didn't show it.

"I was nine and she was a last minute babysitter."

Sara felt her breath catch in her throat and had to remind herself to breathe. She gave Nick's hand a squeeze to let him know that she was still listening.

"All I remember was sitting in my room in the dark afterwards, waiting for my mom to come home," Nick finished as the two stopped in front of Nick's car.

" Nick, I…"

"You don't have to say anything Sar. It's in the past. I'm fine."

The two gazed at each other, neither having to say anything, yet saying everything at the same time.

" Do you want to go for a walk?" Sara asked suddenly.

Nick considered the woman in front of him, a confused expression painted on his face.

"It's nearly one in the morning, Sunshine. It's primetime for the crazies to be running around."

Sara shrugged her shoulders.

"Whenever I need to clear my head or have had a rough case, I find that taking a walk helps me to organize my thoughts."

She then peered back over at Nick, the confused expression still firmly in place.

"Forget I asked, I'm sure you just want to get home."

Sara gave Nick's hand an extra squeeze before turning towards her own car. She was about to reach for the handle when Nick's voice was heard behind her, allowing a small smile to grace her lips.

"Maybe a walk wouldn't be such a bad idea," Nick suggested causing Sara to turn around.

"You sure?"

Nick allowed himself a small smile before taking a few steps closer to his girlfriend.

"No," he admitted, causing Sara to look down at her shoes. She felt a hand under her chin, as it slowly directed it upwards until her eyes were looking into Nick's.

"But darlin', the company is simply too good to pass up."

Sara closed her eyes and Nick's lips met hers in a slow, sensual kiss. They stayed like that for a few moments, simply trading slow kisses in the lab's parking lot before Sara pulled away first.

"You ready?" she questioned as Nick smiled, their hand finding each other's and immediately linking themselves together.

"Ready when you are," Nick declared causing his companion to smile.

The two then strolled out of the parking lot; hands locked together, feeling as if something in the last few moments had allowed them to take a very large step in their relationship.

**Thus brings us to the end of Chapter 6. Hope you all enjoyed! I probably won't be able to really work on Chapter 7 until this weekend, but we'll see how things progress.**

**Reviews make me smile. =)**

**Xoxo **

**Cait the Great**


	8. Chapter 7: The Lost Girls

**Yes, I know, I'm very late, and I am super, SUPER sorry! I've gotten really busy, and just haven't had any inspiration. Don't know where the last bit of this inspiration came from, but clearly it helped! Next I'll be working on a chapter for 'Two is Better Than One", and then possibly the next one for this. Unfortunately, I must physically GET season 10 first so I can do my research. :P**

**Since this was part of the cross-over event, just assume that everything that happened in Miami and New York applies here.**

**I apologize for any mistakes in advance. It's late, and I'm not up to proofreading at the moment. I may do it at a later date, but for now, I just want to get the thing up.**

**I'm a part of a Castle roleplay, which is going quite swimmingly. I won't bore anyone with the details, but that's where the majority of my inspiration has gone. Blame that Castle and Beckett. :D**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Wish I did though.**

The room was dimly lit. The only source of light peeking out from the curtain's meeting place. The room's sole occupant was lying in the bed, cover strewn around his mid-drift, soft snores escaping from his mouth. Few moments passed before the door opened slightly, allowing the house's second occupant to tiptoe into the room. She was halfway to the alarm clock when the thing began to beep uncontrollably. The man began to stir and the woman quickly rushed to shut off the annoying instrument. After a few seconds of fumbling, she successfully managed to shut the alarm off. She then began her way back out of the room when the man's muffled voice called out to her.

"I hope you have a good explanation for turning off my alarm."

The woman silently cursed before turning around to face the man who still had his eyes closed.

"Go back to sleep, Nick."

"Why? So you can successfully murder me without any witnesses, Sidle?"

Sara rolled her eyes before walking over to the bed.

"Why do you assume I have some ulterior motives for shutting your alarm off?"

Nick then snatched Sara from around the waist and brought her fully onto the bed, eliciting a yelp from the brunette.

"Maybe it's because I know you."

Sara rolled her eyes as Nick nuzzled his face into her neck, planting a few kisses there.

"You're showered and dressed already," he stated plainly.

"Good observation Sherlock."

Nick then moved away from her neck, both eyes now open to look at his girlfriend. "It's your day off."

Sara shook her head before poking a finger into his chest.

"Correction," she began, "It's your day off. I talked Catherine into letting me take your shift tonight."

Nick raised an eyebrow at the brunette "Why on earth would you do that?" he asked to which Sara simply shrugged her shoulders.

"While Ray was gone in Miami and New York, I watched you pick up all the slack instead of letting the rest of us split it with you. You need to rest those old bones of yours," she smirked.

"You didn't think I was old last night."

Sara placed a small smack on his shoulder while Nick simply chuckled. "Why must you make things so difficult?" Sara questioned to which Nick responded with a firm kiss to her lips.

"It's a talent really."

Sara grinned at Nick, who was now regarding her thoughtfully.

"How come you haven't worked any overtime since you've been back?"

Sara gave Nick a questioning look. "Why Stokes? Looking to get rid of me already?" Sara asked, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Of course not. It's just, you were known for being a workaholic all of the years we worked together. I'm just curious," Nick answered. His eyes were boring into Sara's curiously seeking hers for an answer.

"Maybe I've found something I look forward to more than work."

"It's my irresistible charm, isn't it?" Nick replied, earning him his second swat of the night.

"Nick," Sara whined," I'm trying to be serious here!"

Nick removed his hands from Sara's waist and held them up in mock defense. "So am I!"

Sara rolled her eyes as Nick's arms re-encircled to their previous. "Your irresistible charm may have something to do with it," Sara confessed bringing Nick's lips to her own swiftly.

"I had a sneaking suspicion."

They continued kissing until Sara's phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She broke the kiss with Nick, who simply turned his attentions to her cheek and neck.

"Sidle," Sara answered, her attention solely on Brass's voice on the other end. "Tangiers Garden. I'll be there."

Sara hung up the phone before turning her lips back to Nick's to give him a final kiss. "Brass has a body for me. I'm meeting Ray at the Tangiers. I'll be back later."

Nick frowned as Sara disentangled herself from the embrace. "You're going to leave me here all by myself?"

Sara straightened her blouse before looking at her boyfriend.

"Why can't you just say thank you like a normal person?"

Nick's gaze traveled with Sara as she moved around the room, gathering up last minute things. "Being normal is vastly overrated."

Sara smirked in Nick's direction. "So I've heard. Enjoy your day off."

Sara then walked out of the room and grabbed her keys off the counter.

"I'll thank you properly later!" Nick's voice declared from the bedroom causing Sara's grin to widen.

"Can't wait cowboy!" she yelled back before exiting Nick's house.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Ray arrived at the scene, almost 20 minutes late, much to Brass's chagrin.

"Where the hell have you been Langston?" Brass demanded as the good doctor put down his field kit.

"Relax Brass. He's here now," Sara stated from her position down by the body. Brass only grunted in response before walking away. Ray squatted down next to her before opening his own kit. "Thanks for that Sara," he responded to which Sara gave a small smile.

"No problem."

The pair was silent for a moment, Ray putting on his gloves while Sara continued to snap photos of the body.

"You're still convinced you're going to find her, aren't you."

Ray looked at Sara, not hearing any maliciousness or foul intend in her words. Her question was an honest one.

"They caught her on film at the Pecos Bill Casino a week ago. She's here somewhere."

Sara couldn't help but flashback to a moment with Nick several years ago in regards to the McBride case. Nick had been convinced that Cassie was still alive, and he had ended up being right. Sara couldn't help but draw the parallels between the two situations.

"You shouldn't give up," Sara commented as she turned to look at Ray. "Keep looking for Madeline Briggs."

Ray turned to consider the female beside him. "Will you help me? I want to get some flyers out on the strip."

Sara immediately nodded her head. "Of course, whatever you need."

Just then David approached the two CSIs.

"Sorry I'm late. Had a little problem I had to take care of."

Sara gave the coroner a smile before gesturing to the body. "No worries Dave. Just work your magic."

David was about to kneel down next to the body when his eyes grew wide with recognition. "This is Dede Chase! She's the meteorologist from Barstow!"

Sara gave a confused look at Dave. "Why on earth are you watching the weather for Barstow?" she asked to which Dave simply replied with a shrug. "She's entertaining."

Ray then pointed back to the body. "How did she die, David?" he asked causing the ME to snap back to attention.

Kneeling down beside the body, he began to examine the very visible neck wound. "Slit to the carotid. Likely the source of death but I won't be sure until I get her back to the morgue."

As David worked, Sara turned her attention to Ray. "What are you thinking?"

Ray looked at the body, taking his time to examine every detail from her clothing to the rest of the surroundings. "Judging by her clothes, I would have guess she was a prostitute," Ray began.

"That was my first instinct as well," Sara confirmed. "I'm more confused as to what a meteorologist from Barstow is doing here."

Ray knelt down beside the body, hoping Dede would 'speak' to him, and offer him something. As he scanned the scene, something on her body caught his eye. He considered it for a moment before pulling a folded piece of paper of Madeline Briggs from his pocket.

"Huh," Ray uttered causing his female companion to look at him.

"What's up Ray?" she asked before taking a spot next to the doctor.

"Look at this picture, then look at Dede's body. Tell me if you notice anything."

Sara took the picture from Ray's outstretched hand and examined it before looking back at Dede's body. "Is that…"

"Madeline Brigg's earring? It's possible. There's blood on it, which wouldn't be strange except the rest of the blood is all on the other side of the body."

Sara leaned closer to the earring. "It's definitely not cast off or there would be more blood than just the one drop on it," Sara stated as she turned her attention back to Ray. "You may have just found a lead to our missing lady."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

"Great news guys," Greg stated as he entered the processing room where Ray and Sara sat going over the evidence from their case.

"Please tell me you were able to match the blood we found on Dede's earring," Ray pleaded to which Greg just smiled.

"We did better," Greg stated. He opened the case file in his hands and shoved a piece of paper in Ray's direction. "First thing is first," he began, "the blood on the earring was a match to Madeline Briggs."

"Could mean the two were living together," Ray concluded to which Sara nodded.

"Could explain how the earring came into her possession," Sara added to which Greg cleared his throat.

"Will you two let a man finish?" Greg exclaimed, causing the other two to utter a 'Sorry Greg' in unison. Once Greg was sure Ray and Sara wouldn't interrupt again, he continued.

"Second, Catherine IDed a tattoo on our victim's neck as one used by pimps to brand their girls. Brass, Cath, and Nick have gone down to Playercon to try and identify the pimp who had control of Dede."

Sara scrunched her nose at Greg. "I'm sorry. Did you say Nick was with Catherine and Brass?" she asked.

Greg pretended not to hear her, only tilting his head slightly and cupping an ear with one of his hands. "I'm sorry it sounded like someone had something they wanted to add. If they want me to respond, they might want to try a less rude way of asking their question."

Sara scowled before raising her hand, causing Ray to chuckle in his seat. Greg smiled at Sara.

"Do you have something you want to add, Miss Sidle?"

Sara put her hand down and re-posed her question, to which Greg shrugged his shoulders. "Catherine said this was a high profile case since it now stretches across three states. Figured we could use all the help we could get."

Sara frowned. This would happen on the night she tried to do something nice for Nick. Knowing him, he was probably bored when Catherine had called and all too eager to come into work. She was certain this would be the last time she would do something for him for awhile.

"Is that all Miss Sidle?" Greg inquired, fluttering his eyelashes obnoxiously.

"Get on with it Greg before I hurt you," Sara said in a flat voice to which Greg simply wagged a finger in her direction. "You know as well as I do that violence is not the answer."

"Greg," Sara growled as a warning, finally causing Greg to drop his charade.

"While the others are working with the pimps, we get to interrogate Brett McDonnell, Dede's producer. Apparently, Brett has been placing a few too many calls to his employee as of late."

Ray fixed his glasses before glancing up at Greg. "And this McDonnell character is already in interrogation?"

Greg nodded his head before adding, "PD brought him in a few minutes ago. All we have to do is meet him over there."

As Sara and Ray stood up from their chairs, they heard a collection of laughs emerging from the hall. The trio peeked out from their room to spot the owners of the voices coming down the hall.

"It's the oldest trick in the book, and I can't believe she fell for it!" Nick exclaimed as he and Catherine proceeded down the hallway.

"She was a stripper, Nicky. Not everyone knows that every dollar has trace amounts of cocaine on it," Catherine pointed out, causing Nick to snicker.

'Are you saying you didn't know that when you were dancing?"

Catherine rolled her eyes before lightly smacking Nick on the arm. The pair then spotted Sara, Ray, and Greg emerge from their processing room.

"Hey guys. Did you get anything out of the producer?" Catherine questioned. Greg shook his head.

"We were just on our way over there. Did you guys get anything new from Playercon?" Greg asked.

This time it was Nick's turn to shake his head. "You know how that place is Greg-o. Can't tell who belongs to who. We managed to track down one of the girls with the same tattoo as Dede, and tricked her with the whole 'drugs on the money' routine."

Greg immediately put out a hand and high-fived the Texan. "Dude! That's classic!"

Nick and Greg shared a laugh before Sara cleared her throat to her their attention.

"I hate to interrupt but we," Sara began before gesturing to herself, Greg, and Ray," have an interrogation to conduct. We can swap 'World's Stupidest Criminal Stories' late."

Sara gave Nick a pat on the chest before breaking from the group, Ray following close on her heels. As Nick watched her go with a confused look on his face, Greg couldn't help but snort.

"Leave it to Sara 'All Work, No Play' Sidle to get everyone back on track."

Nick ignored Greg's statement as Sara's form continued to retreat down the hallway. "She's upset," he said plainly, receiving an affirmative nod from Catherine.

"How did you get that from watching her walk away?" Greg questioned.

"I know her."

Before Greg could ask any more questions, Nick headed into the room previously occupied by the other three. When Greg turned his attention to Catherine, she simply gestured in direction of the interrogation room.

"Interrogate now, ask personal questions later," she said sternly.

With a mock salute, Greg made his way down the hall. Making sure Greg actually did as he was told, Catherine watched him until she was sure he wouldn't come running back before heading into the same room as Nick.

"You okay?" she asked the Texan in front of her.

He let out a sigh before looking up at his supervisor. "You worried I'm bringing my personal problems to work?" Nick asked.

"Are you?" Catherine fired back, causing Nick to look down at the table.

"You know me better than that, Cath."

Catherine took a seat across from Nick. "She's upset I brought you in, isn't she."

There were no harsh tones or teasing behind her statement and Nick just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Before another word could be spoken, Brass approached the room, a little out of breath. "Diane Jasper just called her pimp. Sounds like someone's coming to bring her home to her 'sugar daddy'."

Both Catherine and Nick stood up from their positions.

"Why don't you go grab Greg from interrogation and take him with you to follow her home. We need to figure out where she lives."

Brass nodded and was about to turn around when Catherine's voice called him back.

"Have Greg bring a camera. I want to know exactly who Diane Jasper's pimp is."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Sara, Nick, and Ray were all sitting patiently in the AV lab, waiting for Greg's call. Nick was staring absently off into space while Sara was looking at the computer screen intently. Ray was using the rare opportunity to study his co-workers.

He had worked with Nick long enough to know something was bugging him. His brow was furrowed causing his laugh lines to crinkle, making Nick look much older than his actual age. Sara was much harder to read as he hadn't known her as long since she had been a member of the team before he joined and left before he got there. From what he could gather, she was a strong and independent woman who probably enjoyed her work way too much.

However, there was something else about his brunette co-worker that he hadn't been able to work out. She tried very hard to mask it, yet every once in awhile, Ray caught a glimpse of a part of Sara that not many people had been witness too. The woman had been hurt; not just once, but multiple times. He didn't know the cause, but he did know that Sara didn't like to share her feelings and so his questions remained unanswered.

The silence in the room seemed to only increase, so Ray decided her would be the one to finally break it, "Do you guys want me to leave so you can talk?"

Both Sara and Nick shook their heads.

"Now's not the time Dr. Ray," Sara answered coolly.

"I know what Catherine and Ecklie expect of you two. Not bringing personal stuff to work is just as hard as not bringing work home. I know it's none of my business, but you both seem stressed out. It might help to talk some things out," Ray stated.

Sara and Nick turned to look at each other for a moment. Moments later, Sara's cell phone began to ring. She swiftly put it on speakerphone as Nick and Ray both moved to get a better look at the big screen projection on the other side of the room.

"I'm sending the pictures to you now," Greg's voice declared on the other line. The folder quickly popped onto the screen and Sara opened it.

"Did you recognize the pimp?" Nick asked.

"Brass did. Says his name is Anthony Samuels. The woman who picked Jasper up? Anthony's mother, Susan."

Sara pulled the photos out of the folder and enlarged them for Ray and Nick.

"We need to get into that house," Sara state.

"We'll need probably cause. We can't just barge in there because he's a dirt bag," Greg exclaimed, his voice resonating from Sara's speaker.

"There has got to be something in these pictures," Nick proclaimed as the three CSIs continued to look at the picture from Greg's camera. Ray's focus seemed to be focused on one picture in particular, causing Sara's own gaze to shift to him.

"What is it Ray?" she asked, causing Nick's attention to shift as well.

"Can you possibly make this picture even bigger?" Ray asked, gesturing to the picture that had captivated his attention for the past few minutes. Sara quickly complied, enlarging the picture so many of the minor details now stuck out like sore thumbs.

It didn't take Sara long to spot what had drawn Ray's eyes to the picture in the first place.

"Ray," she began, only to be interrupted by Ray. "I see it too, Sara."

"What do you see?" Nick questioned.

Sara zoomed in closer to get an even better look at Anthony's ear, where a shiny silver earring was seen dangling.

"Madeline's earring," Ray stated as soon as the shot was clear enough to notice the identical nature of the two earrings.

"I'd say it gives us probably cause," Sara concluded to which Ray nodded before leaving the room.

"Thanks for all your help, Greg!" Sara said into her phone before ending the call. The room once again became consumed by silence as the occupants simply stared at one another.

"Want to tell me why you're made at me?" Nick asked.

Sara shrugged her shoulders before removing herself from her chair. "I'm not mad at you."

"You're a terrible liar, Sidle," Nick shot back quickly.

"There's nothing to talk about," Sara answered before heading towards the door. Nick, anticipating this move, stepped in her way.

"Sara…"

Sara looked up at Nick, a scowl taking over her features. "Don't 'Sara' me. I can't do this right now, Nick."

Sara shifted to her left, Nick mimicking her ever move as the pair shifted back and forth.

"Nick," she said calmly," Will you please move?"

Nick shook his head. "Not until you tell me what I did to make you upset."

Sara folded her arms over her chest before proceeding to look down at her feet. "I'm really not mad at you," she confessed.

"The what's wrong, Sar?" he asked, willing himself to not put his arms on her waist to let her know he was listening.

"It's stupid," she said, to which Nick simply responded with a "Try me."

Sara returned her gaze to Nick's, unsurprised to see the care and concern reflected in his eyes. Those eyes got to her every time.

"I'm not very good at this whole 'key-sharing, staying at each other's houses' thing."

"Do you want to take a step back? If you're not ready, I can wait sweetheart."

There he went again, being all gentle and sweet.

"No! I just…"

Sara had to let out a sigh. "I don't want to screw this up, Nick."

Nick considered the woman in front of him, the worry radiating off of her almost more than he could handle.

"What possibly led you to the conclusion that you were screwing it up?"

Another shrug from Sara. "Hearing you had come into work when I tried to do something nice for you," she admitted which elicited a chuckle from Nick.

"There goes that beautiful mind of yours again."

When Sara gave him a confused look, Nick couldn't help but smile. "You're over-thinking this one, darlin'. Sometimes you need to learn to just turn your mind off."

Sara chose not to say anything, convincing Nick to continue.

"What you did for me this morning was a wonderful surprise and very much appreciated. However, it was very un-Sara like. You don't need to go out of your way to do something nice for me, because I like you just the way you are."

Sara began to protest when Nick placed a finger to her lips. "Being able to spend quality time with you and seeing you happy is gift enough for me. Don't jeopardize who you are because you are afraid of losing me. I'm telling you now, Sidle. I'm not going anywhere."

By now, Sara was feeling warm all over, and was using every ounce of her will power not to kiss Nick senseless. "What if I screw things up?" she questioned after Nick had removed his finger.

"I won't let you," came his response.

"Promise?"

Nick smiled before finally moving out of the way so Sara could leave. "Absolutely, Sunshine. Now get your cute butt movin' and go find Ray."

Sara's cheeks tinged pink as she walked out of the room, only to turn around and receive a wink from Nick. She once again smiled before wandering in search of the doctor.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Catherine wasn't sure what was worse. Seeing this much blood on one bed all belonging to one person or Greg's humming of show tunes. "I'm warning you now, Sanders. If you don't shut up, you're going to find yourself out of a job."

Greg quickly did as he was told and the pair continued their processing.

"There has to be a pint of blood on this bed," Catherine said with a frown.

Greg had now picked up a baseball bat from nearby, also with visible bloodstains.

"If the blood is Madeline's, there's no way she's still alive," Greg commented before swabbing the bat.

"Don't let Ray hear you say that," Catherine added as an afterthought. She wasn't sure why the doctor was so optimistic about this one, but she wasn't about to be the one to burst his bubble. His optimism – while stupid – was also quite refreshing. It had been a long time since Catherine had been optimistic in cases like this, though this time she really hoped Ray was right. Not only for his sanity, but hers as well.

Catherine stopped her investigating for a moment to look at Greg. The phone call from several weeks ago was now eating at her. Maybe if she told someone else, she would feel much better.

"I talked to Grissom a while back," she admitted, waiting for the other CSI's eyes to turn towards hers.

"Why's that? Looking for his lost spider?" Greg snickered.

'Something like that," Catherine said. "He was calling about Sara."

It was probably a good thing Greg had already put the bat down, otherwise he likely would have dropped it. "He did what?"

Catherine simply shrugged her shoulders. "He says he's worried about her and asked me if I knew where she was."

"Well, did you tell him?" Greg asked, his sole attention, now on Catherine.

"Of course I didn't tell him," she cracked. "It's Sara's choice. If she doesn't want Gil to know where she is, then who am I to argue with her?"

Before Greg could retort, Nick re-entered the room holding a wallet in his hands. "I found this outside," he said. "You'll never guess whose it is."

"Dede Chase," Catherine deadpanned before taking the wallet out of Nick's outstretched hand.

"You're no fun when you do that," the Texan added.

"I…I'm just going to…i-interview Diane," Greg stuttered before exiting the room. Catherine watched him go, the frown now returning to her face.

"Greg…," she tried, but it was too late. He was already out the door causing Nick to look at his supervisor in confusion.

"What bee is up his bonnet?" he asked.

Catherine shot him a look. She honestly didn't know why Greg seemed to take the news hard. Maybe it had been a bad idea to tell Greg.

"I honestly don't know," came Catherine's response. What was she supposed to tell him? That his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend had called her up, looking to bring her back?

Yeah – that would go over well.

"You're really going to stand there and lie to my face?"

"Nicky," Catherine began. "If it were something really important, I would tell you, wouldn't I?"

Nick considered the thought for a moment before slowly nodding his head. "You're right, Cath. I'm sorry."

Catherine could only muster up a nod of her own, when Greg returned.

"Diane told me she used to work for a Russian pimp by the name of Dimitri Sadesky. Claims Anthony out there saved her," he said, taking special care not to look at Nick.

"Run it down. Take Brass, Sara, and Ray with you. Nick and I will finish up here."

As quickly as Greg came, he was gone again. Catherine then turned to look at Nick. Somewhere buried in the back of her mind, she knew the lie would come back to bite her in the butt. Maybe what she needed to do was take a page out of Ray's book and try and stay optimistic.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

"Are you sure this is right? We're in the middle of nowhere," Sara exclaimed as she stepped out of the car.

"You mean you expected somewhere more heavily populated to be this guy's personal graveyard?" Greg teased, eliciting a chuckle from Nick.

"This is where the GPS led us. There's got to be something out here," Ray added as Sara glared at the other two men across the way. As the group of four spread out amongst the rest of the team, Sara approached Ray and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just because we found her blood in his car, doesn't mean she's out here."

Ray didn't look at Sara, just shook his head in response. "She's not out here. I don't think he killed her."

Sara gave him a brief pat before the two joined the rest of the search. When the 4th body had been uncovered, the CSIs were convinced they had found the right guy, especially when Greg uncovered the cigarette. When they had first met Dimitri, he was smoking, meaning the chances of finding DNA, his DNA, on the item was slim to none.

Nick's phone began to ring, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Stokes," he immediately answered.

"The blood we found on Diane Jasper's purse was a match to Dede's. After Brass and I confronted her, she confessed to killing Chase. Said she knew she was going to bolt, and ended up killing her," Catherine relayed quickly onto the phone.

"Well, at least that part's over," Nick answered.

"Let me guess. No Madeline?"

"Fraid' not. Got plenty of bodies, none of them are Briggs."

He heard the sigh over the phone and resisted the urge to let out one of his own.

"How's Ray doing?"

Nick snuck a look over at the doctor who was currently working along side Sara, photographing one of the bodies. "He's doing all right. Frankly, I think working with Sara is helping him,"

Nick could almost picture Catherine's confused face on the other end.

"Sara? As in Miss Pessimism?"

"That's the one."

"Huh," came the female's response. "Who would have guessed?"

A smile lit up Nick's face as he continued to watch the pair work.

"I could have," he stated, and Catherine knew he meant it.

"I don't know what you've done to that girl, Nick. But whatever it is, keep it up."

Saying a brief goodbye, Catherine hung up the phone and Nick returned to Greg's side.

"Who was it?" Greg asked as the camera clicked away.

"It was Cath. We got Dede's killer."

Greg stopped his movement for a moment to look at Nick. "Who was it?"

"Diane Jasper."

Greg's face didn't show surprise as he resumed taking pictures. The normally perky Greg Sanders had been replaced by some stoic robot.

"Dude, what is wrong with you? You've been acting weird since you and Catherine were talking at Anthony's house. What gives?"

The internal struggle was evident on Nick's face, only further clueing Nick into the fact that something was going on.

"Grissom called Catherine the other day," he finally said.

"So? They're friends. They're allowed to talk to one another," came Nick's response.

"He called looking for Sara."

Greg watched as the Texan's face scrunched up in confusion. "He did?"

Greg nodded. "I'm sorry, Nick."

This proceeded to only confuse Nick more. "Why are you apologizing?"

That had thrown Greg for a loop. Did Nick really not know what that meant?

"Sara was with him for a long time…"

"Yeah, I know. We already had this discussion. I get it, Greg," Nick tossed back before letting out a scoff and continuing his work.

Greg just stared blankly at his friend, watching as he consciously avoided looking at anything else but the body. Just as Greg was about to get back to work, he heard Nick speak again.

"I thought we were friends."

"We are," Greg exclaimed only to be stopped by Nick.

"You've had no faith in mine and Sara's relationship from the start. You're constantly telling me she's going to run and now you're dropping this on me? Nice, Greg. Real nice."

He watched as Nick stood up and wandered away, before letting out a sigh. Within a few moments, another pair of shoes joined him.

"Everything all right?" Sara asked gently. Greg nodded causing Sara to bend down next to him. "We both know you're not. Care to try again?"

This time Greg shook his head. "Not really," he mumbled before he, himself, walked away.

She watched him go, before deciding to give it one more shot. This time, with Nick. Wandering over to her boyfriend's hunched form, Sara laid a hand on his back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

There was a rather pregnant pause between where Sara finished and Nick began. "Did you know?"

"Know what?"

Nick's form remained hunched, and Sara could practically feel the muscles tensing in his back. "That Grissom called Catherine looking for you?"

A difficult choice was now presented to Sara. She could either tell Nick the truth and pray he didn't get too upset, or lie and have that hanging over her head. How mad could he really get, right?

"Yes, I did," she confirmed.

"Unbelievable," Nick muttered, picking himself up and heading toward the Denali.

"Nick! Wait!" she shouted, only to have her voice fall on deaf ears. So much for hoping for the best.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

The ride back had been silent and uneventful. Ray was getting a little sick of the quiet. How many times could everyone be mad at one another until they realized how pointless it was? As soon as they parked, the other three occupants exited quickly; Sara and Greg shuffling off in one direction, while Nick went in the other.

Ray entered the building, only to have Catherine approach holding a file.

"Booked Dimitri on the other murders. Claims he let Madeline go though."

Ray shrugged as the two began to approach Catherine's office. "Madeline's body wasn't out there. It's completely possible he's telling the truth."

Catherine stopped her forward movement to consider co-worker. "Listen, Ray. I know you're convinced you'll find her out there, but we need to be realistic now. The probability she's still alive is slim to none."

"I know. Every thing we've learned has taught us not to."

Giving the man a pat on the back, Catherine offered a sympathetic smile before ushering him towards the locker room. "Go home Ray."

As Ray approached the locker room, he could hear shouting behind the door. Afraid to disturb the conversation, Ray leaned against the door to better hear what was going on. It took him all of a few seconds to realize the source of the voices.

"What was all of this to you? Was it some kind of sick joke?"

"No!" he heard Sara exclaim. "That's not it at all!"

He heard Nick scoff from behind the door. "Then explain it to me, Sara, because I sure as hell have no idea why we're doing this!"

There was a few shuffles followed by a slam of a locker. Ray quickly moved out of the way, just as an angry looking Nick Stokes emerged from the locker room. Ray took the opportunity to head into the room, himself, needing to make sure there was no damage. All he found was Sara staring into the inside of her own locker.

"You all right?" he asked.

It took the brunette a moment to respond, before she slightly nodded her head. "Yeah," she said her voice wobbling ever so slightly. "I'm fine," she finished before gently thumping her own locker shut and exiting.

Ray quickly grabbed his own things before following her out. He stopped when he realized the girl had stopped mere feet away from the entrance. She was locked on something in front of her, and to be honest, Ray couldn't look away either.

"Looking for something?" the voice said.

"Madeline?" Ray questioned, staring at the female half of the pair in front of him.

"Grissom?" came Sara's response.

There, standing in the halls of CSI, alongside Madeline Briggs, was Gil Grissom looking as though he had never left.

**Comments would be lovely. **

**Xoxo, Cait**


End file.
